Beauty and the Beast and Me, the Witch
by girlthatwrites
Summary: Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme, and a witch who cannot cast a spell for her life. Who is to say history cannont repeat itself? Especially by accident...
1. Chapter 1

I startled awake in the middle of history class by a loud shriek as all the girls in my class ran to the window. I rolled my eyes at their silly mortalness, even if I did peer around some of them to watch the limo pull up to the front of the school. They all ran back to their seats to pull out their mirrors and fix their makeup. The teacher, having three daughters, knew better than to try to stop them. All the guys in the class were groaning and looking out the window enviously as a group of people headed into the school from the limo.  
>I made a big deal of stretching and yawning just to fill a few boring seconds. I decided now was a good time to organize my backpack, even though I did that almost every history class. Forgive me, but mortal history is just so boring. Magic history, not that, that is interesting.<br>Do not ask me why I am studying in the mortal world and not the magic world. I kind of, um, blewupthemagicalworld'smaingovernmentbuilding. Twice. I am forbidden to go back to the magical world for twelve months as of last Tuesday. I have to go to some fancy prep school in the mortal world. I am crashing at a castle about twenty minutes away that my aunt bought a few years back and lent to me. She said it is very durable, which is good, because I tend to break things, but only when I use magic. I get really nervous and worried about magic, which makes me mess up. I can be clumsy sometimes, but not as bad as when I am using magic. I get it from my klutz of a dad. My mom is the graceful one, from a long line of respected witches and warlocks. I got the Poof blood while my sister, Elizabeth (we call her Little Liz because she is kind of small for a fourteen year old), is one of the best witches of her age. She is only a year younger than me and we are pretty close. Unlike my mother, she accepts that I am not the best witch and tries to help me.  
>I jumped, as usual, when the bell rang for lunch. It was a louder bell than the bell for switching classes and higher. All the girls ran out of the room faster than road runners. The guys all kind of sauntered out slowly, trying to act like they were not curious or eager to meet the new student. I was last to leave, of course, because it took me forever to jam my history textbook into my book bag. I had to be careful not to break my wand, even if that would have been better for everyone around me.<br>I walked to the cafeteria, which was devoid of all girls except for a few Goth girls who were too busy being sad and depressed to care about anything else. I took a tray and slid it down the rack as food was put on my plate. I heard yelling and shouting down the hallway and turned to watch a sea of people spill through the open doors of the cafeteria. The throng of people seemed to split to reveal a few reporters and photographers surrounding a teenage boy. He was seventeen, very attractive, athletic looking, and smiling like a movie star. I knew what his name was: Brent Carall. He was the son of one of the most famous lords. Ever since it had been announced at the end of last week that he was going to our school for seventh year none of the girls could shut up about it.  
>A woman who was about forty hurried in behind Brent to push aside the reporters while the principal showed him around. A boy with short spike dirty blond hair appeared beside Brent, smiling with an equal amount of charm. I thought I had heard about him. He was Justin Wright, Brent's best friend. The two were paparazzi favorites apparently. Justin was apparently going to attend our school, too. He was already breaking the dress code with a loose tie, no sports jacket, and rolled up sleeves. I scoffed, knowing he was not going to get in trouble for it because of his status in the public eye.<br>"Pretty pathetic, isn't it, Carly?" the last lunch lady asked me as she placed a piece of bread on my plate. "I can tell you those two are not getting one piece of my pecan pie, that's for sure. I don't feed divas."  
>I laughed at the kind lunch lady whose name I was not remembering at all and went to an empty table to sit down. There were a lot to choose from so I chose the one farthest away from the door. I pulled my long brown hair back before starting in on the bread I had gotten. I twirled my spoon in my fingers like a mini baton, watching my gray eyes appear and disappear as it spun. It does not take much to amuse me and this was doing the trick.<br>I barely even noticed the crowd had left until I finished my bread, finally looking up. The last of the people were leaving through the doors. I thought about the glimpse I had gotten of Brent Carall. He had a cocky grin and a look in his eye like he knew whatever he asked for would be given to him. Girls fell at his feet everywhere and his daddy could buy him anything. I knew he owned one of the most expensive sports cars in the country. His friend, Justin Wright, apparently lived with him but was not as popular because he was not the biological son of the lord. I thought of the older woman I had seen with Brent. It was probably his nanny or something, which proved he was irresponsible and needed to be looked after.  
>Throughout the rest of the day I saw Brent and Justin everywhere, followed by the reporters and a student to guide them. It was a girl student that Brent had his arm around a lot. I could tell from the look he was giving other girls that that poor girl would have her heart broken by tomorrow. I rolled my eyes at both the stupidity of Brent and the girl.<br>After school I went to a meeting to plan for the school dance. I figured that if I was stuck going to this school I might as well try to make the best of it, maybe even help out a little. The meeting was being run by one of the seventh years who seemed to be in charge of everything. I never learned his name but I know he always seemed to be in charge of everything. I jumped a little, startled, when he slammed the gavel on the top of the table.  
>"Quiet down," he ordered.<br>I looked around the room at everyone, all of which had been silent since they entered the room. To my surprise I saw Brent and Justin at the corner of the table. Brent saw me look at him and winked at me. Pig, I thought, turning back to face the guy in charge. He started doling out responsibilities as people volunteered for them.  
>"I need someone in charge of drinks," he said. "Who hasn't volunteered yet?"<br>I raised my hand.  
>"Okay, you. Name?"<br>"Carly Poof," I said, blocking out people's laughter as I said my name. I really do not know what people find funny about my name.  
>"Alright, Carly, you're down for drinks. Who else hasn't volunteered?"<br>Brent and Justin raised their hands simultaneously, like their arms were one in movement. Ugh, they probably had some bromance thing going. Mortal guys are so weird. Then again, magic guys are not too different.  
>"Okie-dokie." What straight guy says okie-dokie? I saw this same question appear on the face over everyone else in the room. "Brent and Justin are down for drinks."<br>"Yippee," I mumbled under my breath.  
>"Meeting adjourned."<br>He slammed the gavel on the table again and I jumped, startled, again. I startle and scare very easily, especially with loud noises. You would think I would have gotten used to them by now after all the explosions I have caused in my life. All by accident, of course. Who knows what would happen if I tried to blow something up on purpose.  
>On my way out of the classroom Brent and Justin tried to call for me to wait. I just kept walking, ignoring them. I started ranting in my head about how unlucky I was to have to work with the pig, no the beast, that was Brent Carall.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

"He's kind of cute," Little Liz said, flipping through a magazine I had in one of the rooms in my castle home thingy. "So is Justin."  
>"Well, in the five minutes it took to decide what drinks to buy and who would buy them," I said, "Brent blew two girls kisses, hugged one, winked at five, gave three 'the look', glared at a group of nerds, high-fived a guy who is known for being too self-centered, and randomly slapped some kid in the band because he played the trombone. Whenever I walk by him he is bragging about his amazing athletic and academic skills, his car, his yacht, or his mansion. Kind of takes away the attractiveness."<br>"Maybe he just does not know how else to act. He's been home-schooled since kindergarten. He's always been hounded by reporters and asked questions about his life. He's just accustomed to talking about himself. His closest friends are probably all the same."  
>"But he's so rude! Aren't lords' sons supposed to learn proper manners?"<br>"He probably did learn proper manners, and he has always had to display them so now is his time to goof off. He can't be that rude."  
>"He slaps every band member, nerd, or dork that passes him after insulting them. He even talks back to adults like they are inferior to him. They just laugh and look flattered. Well, all of them except Ms. Raggs."<br>"Who's Ms. Raggs?"  
>"She's his nanny or handler or something. She's always there when his driver, Mr. Forde, comes to pick him up from school. She seems so nice, I don't know why she would want to handle such a beast."<br>"Maybe-"  
>"Look, Little Liz, you haven't met Brent ever, and I pray you never do. He's a horrible, conceited person."<br>Little Liz just looked back down at the magazine sullenly. She always tries to give people the benefit of the doubt, and somehow she always finds one. I guess the way Brent acted could possibly be because of how he was raised. It had been two weeks though. Had he really not learned by now that he could not treat people like that? Or better yet, was everyone so star struck by him that they did not want to confront him? I knew that if he stepped too far out of line tonight at the refreshments table I was going to do more than just confront him.  
>Little Liz hung around to conjure up the shoes for my dress. I am pretty good with conjuring up clothes, but shoes are always my weak spot, along with a lot of other things. I also can never conjure up steak. It always comes out as pork chops or milk. I slipped my wand into the special long pocket in the dress that was unnoticeable. Almost all dresses witches conjured or bought in the magical world had the special pocket. When I was younger I used to leave my wand at home and fill the pocket with snacks. I like to eat. A lot. I also jog two miles every morning and have gym almost everyday so it is really not a problem.<br>"Ready to go?" Little Liz asked me as I walked to the front door with her behind me.  
>"No, Little Liz, I'm walking to the front door because I wanted some exercise before I finished getting ready," I said. She smiled at me as I opened the door.<br>"Just wanted to make sure." She pointed her wand out the door. Suddenly a huge carriage with four white horses was standing in the semi-circle driveway thing. (Do castles even have driveways or are those called something else?)  
>"Get rid of it, please. I want to remain under the radar as much as possible."<br>"You've been doing a pretty good job the past few weeks."  
>"I know. If I keep it up I'll have some good friends and no enemies by the end of the school year, with no drama."<br>"It's high school, mortal or magic, there's drama."  
>"Can't be too much drama for a freshman like you."<br>"There isn't any for me specifically. I get dragged into all the drama about my friends, though." She checked her watch. "Crap, Mom's going to want me home to help with dinner." My family has this thing for eating really late. "I'll visit when I have some free time. Write me."  
>In a millisecond Little Liz was gone. I was glad to see that she had made the carriage and horses disappear too. I did not want to have to deal with that because it would not end well. I did not want to put the horses in danger. I took off on the twenty-minute walk to my school. My sister had conjured up a pair of heels that would not hurt my feet so I was fine by the time I got to the school. Brent and Justin had agreed to meet me about a half hour before the dance with the sodas and cups so we could set up the table. I arrived there right on time, which is actually not that shocking. I am, oddly enough, a quite punctual person.<br>Brent and Justin were apparently not very punctual people. I set up the folding table by myself, along with the table cloth. I then stood around for twenty minutes, tapping my foot on the gym floor. People had already started arriving for the dance when Brent and Justin finally burst through the back doors, carrying bags full of two-liter soda bottles and plastic cups, wearing crazy smiles on their faces as they laughed. They did not seem to notice the extremely pissed off look on my face as they walked over.  
>"Okay, Justin did the craziest thing," Brent said, setting out the sodas. "We were at the store and he got one of the bigger carts and then he goes running down the aisle, hops in, and rides the thing all the way to the end of the aisle, somehow steers it around the corner, and scares the old lady in the next aisle."<br>"That part really wasn't that funny," Justin said. He seemed even more riled up than Brent. I had heard people say Justin was the more hyper one, always trying to pull stunts similar to the cart thing.  
>"That was the funniest part!" Brent started howling with laughter all over again. "She almost had a heart attack! Now that would have been funny!"<br>"No, it wouldn't have." Justin stopped smiling and looked at his friend seriously. "I didn't mean to scare her that much. I wouldn't have done it if I knew-"  
>"Shut up, it was hilarious and you know! Imagine if she had a heart attack, though?"<br>Brent started faking a heart attack and fell all the way to the floor. I hoped he stayed there as I set up the cups. After Brent stood up he walked away and immediately went to a group of girls that had gathered in the center of the gym. I groaned at his lack of usefulness as I started pouring some of the soda into the cups and setting them out. Justin helped me quietly. I realized how much less conceited he was than Brent, even if he was slightly more crazy.  
>"You can leave now, too," I told Justin after the drinks were all set out. "I can work this alone."<br>"No, I'll stay here for the first few minutes then we can switch off," Justin said. He was also much more helpful than Brent.  
>"Okay. Brent can work after me."<br>"Uh…Brent's probably not going to work."  
>"He's working."<br>He laughed a little. "He's not going to stay at the table, I can promise you that."  
>"I'm going to make him stay at the table, I can promise you that."<br>"Someone who doesn't bend to Brent's will…This is refreshing."  
>I walked over to a small group of people who were from my Literature class that I had studied with a few times. I talked and danced with them for about a half hour before switching off with Justin. I had to throw out some of the empty soda bottles and fill a lot more of the cups. I repeated this again after a half-hour before walking up to Brent to tell him to take his shift.<br>"What?" he said, shocked, when I told him it was his turn to work the table. He looked around at the jocks he was surrounded by. They all looked at me like I was some freak just because I was telling Brent Carall to lift a finger. "You're the girl, you should do the work."  
>I crossed my arms. "Was that chauvinistic pig language for 'I can't move my lazy ass over to a table for a half hour'?"<br>His jaw almost dropped. "Do you have any idea who I am?"  
>"Brent Carall, residential jerkface."<br>"No, I'm Brent Carall, son of Lord Oscar. I am richer, better looking, and smarter than everyone in this place. You don't talk to me that way."  
>I stormed away before I cast a bad spell on him. I would probably miss but I did not want to risk that either. "You don't walk away from me!" Brent yelled, following me. Was he not watching me as I, gasp, walked away from him? I kept walking until I got to the back doors of the gym. I pushed one open, walking out into the crisp October air. I kept walking along the cement path until I came to the steps. I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down, get rid of the anger with the carbon dioxide. I felt someone tap my shoulder. I knew it was Brent so I turned slowly.<br>"Why did you do that?" he asked angrily.  
>"I was pissed off at you and needed to cool off," I said.<br>"Why were you pissed off at me?"  
>"You didn't want to take your shift at the table. It's a freaking beverage table! You pour drinks for people!"<br>"That would make them think they were less than me, though."  
>"You have some serious superiority issues."<br>"I do not!"  
>"You think you're better than everyone!"<br>"Everyone in this school, yeah, but not everyone everyone."  
>I groaned, not understanding how this guy did not get it. "Do you realize that if your dad was not a lord and you weren't famous you wouldn't be able to get away with anything you get away with now?"<br>He gave no response, just glared at me.  
>"And girls wouldn't look at you the same way. They'd just think you were a pig, which you are." I put my hand in my pocket and pulled out my wand, putting it behind my back. I began swinging it to try to calm myself down again before I used it against Brent.<br>"Please, I'm gorgeous. Girls would love me no matter what."  
>I rolled my eyes. "I bet you've never even had a real relationship."<br>"Why would I need one?"  
>"Because it makes you realize that the world does not just revolve around you! It makes you realize you aren't the only important person!"<br>"But why would I want that?"  
>He was so self-absorbed it literally disgusted me. I pointed at him to add emphasis. "You aren't a pig, you're a beast!"<br>See, one of the problems I have with my clumsiness is that I forget what I have in my hand sometimes. For example, right at the moment I forgot I was holding my wand and I kind of pointed it at Brent before calling him a beast. At first Brent just stared at the wand, really confused. I quickly stuffed my wand back in my pocket but I knew it was too late because a little white light had shot out of my wand and hit Brent square in the chest. He had not seemed to notice it hit him. Then he fell to the ground, like he had when he was faking a heart attack, and began convulsing on the ground.  
>I screamed. As you know, I am easily startled. This freaked me out way too much. I turned away, covering my ears as I heard Brent groaning. I had no idea what was happening to him. I prayed whatever it was could not be too bad. I took my hands off my ears after a minute or so of silence. I did not even hear anything moving behind me. I felt a sickening feeling in my stomach. Had I killed Brent?<br>Something sharp tapped my shoulder. I froze, not even jumping like I usually do. I realized what I had really done. By calling Brent a beast, I had literally turned him into a beast. I turned with my eyes closed, afraid of what I would see. Brent poked me in the shoulder again with his sharp claw. I slowly pried open my eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"AGH!" I screamed when I saw Brent.

"AGH!" he said in a deep, husky voice that was not Brent's.

"AGH!"

"AGH!"

"Agh!"

"Agh! What did you do?"

"I-I-I-"

Brent grabbed my shoulders and shook me, making my brains rattle. I screamed again right in his face. "Tell me what you did, Carly!"

I was so scared by what had become of Brent that I could not even talk.

"CARLY!"

Why could I at least not have turned him into a beast with good breath? "I turned you into a beast!" I screamed.

His hands fell away from my shoulder and he backed up, staring at his big furry paws. He fell to the ground with a loud thud. He looked over his newly acquired beastness. His large mouth hung open, revealing all his sharp teeth. I took an extra step back. He just stayed there, staring at himself.

"How?" he whispered hoarsely.

"I pointed my wand at you and called you a beast," I said, since that was the only explanation I had. "I was just really emotional so it kind of, uh, came true."

He jumped up, making me scream and jump again. "Why would you do that?"

Well, at least he had been smart enough to figure out that I was a witch or something similar. I was glad he did not question me too much about that. "You deserved it!"

"No I didn't!"

I folded my arms. "If you didn't, than why are you a furry beast right now? Accidental magic is never completely accidental."

Brent growled and clenched his big fist. "Change me back!"

"I can't!"

"Yes, you can! You've got that stick thing!"

"It's called a wand and…" I crossed my ankles as I twisted my fingers behind my back. "I'm not the best witch…"

"Great, just great! What's going to happen now?"

"Just calm down. I need to talk to my mom about this. We'll have to go back to my house so I can use the portal there."

It took Brent a few minutes to process that fully. "How far away is your house?"

"Twenty minutes by foot."

"There is no way I am walking for twenty minutes." Wow, so he was a lazy ass too. This was getting better and better. "Mr. Forde, my driver, is at the front of the school. Go get him."

If he was not in beast form I would have told him off for making me go get Mr. Forde for him. I walked all the way to the front of the school. I had just walked around the corner when I saw Mr. Forde sitting on the steps, staring at a highly expensive and highly damaged car. I ran over quickly to the distraught old gentleman. He looked up at me with sadness.

"I went to get a drink and when I came out the car was like this," he said quickly. "I didn't mean for it to happen. I have no idea who would have done that and then gone off."

He babbled an apology before putting his head back in his hands. I patted his shoulder before turning to the car. Maybe, just maybe, I could try to help Mr. Forde out. I pulled my wand out of my pocket. Mr. Forde barely glanced at it before putting his head back in his hands. "My sister in law was a witch," he mumbled after I looked down at him. I nodded knowingly, glad had yet again avoided having to explain the whole magic thing. I pointed my wand at the car. I instantly got nervous, already fretting that I would mix up the spell. I took a deep breath but my nerves just got worse. I really could have gone for some lavender tea.

"_Before_ _this poor guy sends his own soul to heck, make a car of this horrible wreck_," I chanted.

Being a typical amateur I waved my wand around too much and was not careful with my choice of words. Yes, I was staring at a brand new shiny car in front of me, but next to it was the old wrecked car. And Mr. Forde was not sitting on the steps, torn up, or for lack of better words, a "wreck". I opened the driver side door and slid in. I flicked on the radio sharply. A groan went through the speakers of the Oldsmobile-like car.

"Not again," Mr. Forde's voice said while I basically hyperventilated. "My sister-in-law did this too. Why did my brother marry that woman?" There was a shake through the whole car that made it seem like the car was sighing. "Would you please change me back, young lady?"

"I would," I said shakily, "but I can't."

"Why not?"

"Well, I didn't mean to do this. I…I'm not a very good witch…" I leaned my forehead against the wheel of the car, taking five deep breaths like my older sister, Phillipa, had taught me to do when I was younger and got really scare. That was when Phillipa was nice… "I just…I have horrible aim and I never say the right words. I already turned you into a car, I don't want to do anymore damage."

"Well, that is a very wise choice, I must admit. Is there anyone you could call to get help?"

"There's a portal at my house that I can use. I'll have to send my mom a letter though, because…"

"Because why?"

I looked down at my hands sheepishly. "I was kinda banned from returning to the magic world for twelve months…"

"Well, I would be happy to give you a lift to your house. Could you please give Brent the message that he will have to call his other driver to get him?"

Brent had two freaking drivers just for himself? Jeez. "Well, you see, uh, I was kinda sorta talking to Brent earlier and, uh, we got in a bit of an argument so I, um, I...turned him into a beast."

"_Hmph_." The entire car shook again. "I suppose he'll fit in the backseat if he is not big enough. Please go get him. The quicker we get to your house the quicker Brent and I are changed back to normal."

I looked at the radio curiously. "You aren't mad that I turned Brent into a beast?"

"It is not like you did it on purpose, right?" I shook my head, wondering if he could even see it somehow. "Exactly." I guess he could. "Besides, I think it would be a humbling experience for the boy to go through something like that. In case you have not noticed he can be rather-"

"Conceited, obnoxious, arrogant, irritable, demanding, whiny, pouty, vain, greedy, useless, lazy, and sexist?"

"Ah, yes. I am glad at least someone sees him for who he truly is beside me and Ms. Raggs. We've tried to get the boy to change but he just is-"

"Thick-skulled?"

The car shook again and I heard a laugh. "Yes, a bit."

I smiled, feeling a little better after talking with Mr. Forde. "I'll go get Brent. Hopefully he hasn't gone off somewhere."

I left the radio on and got out of the car, closing the door. I walked quickly back to where I had last talked to Brent. He was staring in horror at his reflection in a small mirror I knew he kept in his pocket. He growled then jumped back after seeing how big his teeth were. Admittedly, I jumped a little too. He turned when he saw me in the reflection. He crossed his arms as he waited for me to talk.

"Uh, Mr. Forde is taking us to my house to get to the portal," I said.

"Then let's go," he said, and it did not sound like a gung-ho, "Let's go!" type thing, but more like a monotone growl.

Brent followed me around to the front of the school. I got in the passenger seat while he squeezed into the back. The radio remained silent until we were all settled in. "Where's Mr. Forde?" Brent asked. "And since when does he drive this car?"

"Since I decided it was more fitting to my personality," Mr. Forde's voice said through the speakers. Brent stared straight ahead at the radio, looked at me, then let his jaw hang open a little. He did not need an explanation. "Everyone buckled? Yes? Good."

Mr. Forde drove himself out of the circular driveway in front of the school. I gave him directions to my house. He only needed me to tell him once and he remembered them. When we got to my house Brent jumped out of the car quickly. I was expecting a "This is your _house_?" from him upon our arrival but he did not seem very impressed by the castle. I promised Mr. Forde I would be out to talk to him once I got a message back from my mother. He seemed content with that so I led Brent up to my large front door.

"Welcome home, Ms. Poof," my butler, Laurent, said with his super fancy French accent. "Who is this…gentleman?" Laurent was a half-blood warlock so he could cast some basic spells and knew what a magical catastrophe looked like.

"Brent Carall," I muttered as Brent and I walked in.

Brent glared at Laurent like it was insulting that my butler was even talking. I wondered what his expression would be if he knew Laurent's headquarters took up half of the east wing. It was like an apartment. He was the only butler in the castle and a good friend of my family so it was not all that weird. He also kind of looked after me, along with the only maid, Francesca. Just between you and me, I think something is going on between Laurent and Francesca.

"Ah, would you like me to take your coat, Mr. Carall?" Laurent asked.

"No," Brent growled.

When Brent was not looking the twenty-something year old gave him a look that made it hard for me not to laugh. "How long will you be staying?"

"As short as possible."

"What a pity."

Laurent walked away with Brent staring at him like he had just been locked in a jail cell by the murderer. I went up the stairs to the study on the second floor where the portal was, my spirits lifted by Laurent's short exchange with Brent. Brent flopped down on a couch like he owned the place while I took out a pen and paper. I scribbled a quick note to my mom explaining the situation and opened the closet door. I sent the seal envelope flying into the vortex at the back of the closet. It disappeared instantly. I turned back to Brent, who was cleaning his large teeth with his claw.

"Got any ribs?" he asked.

I slammed the closet door shut before storming out of the room, calling back, "Want ribs? Make your own! Hospitality isn't welcome in this house!"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Brent stayed in a room in the west wing. I stayed in my room in the north wing, waiting for my mother to either appear or to hear the loud ringing noise that came from the study in the floor below when someone sent a message or came in through the portal. At around one-thirty in the morning my phone went off with a text from a number I did not recognize. I read it: HEY. R U W / BRENT? –JUSTIN. I responded with a yes and a frown face before lying back down on my bed, pulling my sweatshirt tighter around me as a draft found its way through my closed window.

I was just drifting off to sleep when I got a text from Justin again. WHERE R U? I decided it was best not to respond to that and just fell back asleep after turning my phone off.

RIIIIINNNNNG! I jumped up, looking around quickly. The ringing from the portal stopped for a moment before starting again. I threw my hair back in a ponytail as I flew out of my room, running all the way to the study. I heard Brent groaning in the distance for someone to pick up the phone. Francesca was dusting the furniture in the study when I walked in. We exchanged good mornings while I opened the portal, ending the annoying noise. I was going to have to fix that. First I would have to figure out how to do that…

A letter in my mom's signature violet colored envelope came flying into the room and landed on the table, opening by itself. I walked over to the table, picking the letter up and sitting on the couch to read it.

Dear Carly,

I am sorry to inform you that I can do nothing. Upon examination I have concluded that this is simply a case of history repeating itself. Also, the reversal of another witch's spell takes a long time and is forbidden when one of the witch's had been thrown out of the magic world. There is one way to fix this all, and it is for Mr. Carall to change his attitude within a year, or he will remain a beast forever, and Mr. Forde will remain a car forever. Also, any other spells that have some relation to Mr. Carall's spell will remain in place until he changes his ways and learns to love.

Love,

Mom

I crumpled up the paper before throwing it angrily in the trash can across the room. It missed by about five feet. Francesca picked it up and read it before throwing it away. "So is Mr. Carall going to be staying with us for a while?" Francesca asked.

"Hopefully not," I said.

"Why would I need to?" Brent asked, walking in.

"Brent, sit down," I said tiredly, motioning to the couch across the coffee table from mine. Brent sat down, watching me carefully. I knew he was checking to see if I had my wand on me. I did not. "I just got a letter from my mom. The spell is never going to go away. I am banned from the magic world for a year, which is as long as you have to reverse the spell, and it is forbidden to have someone reverse another witch's spell if she is banned from the magic world."

"Is there any other way I could reverse it? I can't be a beast my entire life!" I noticed he did not say anything about Mr. Forde and I could practically see him thinking only "Me! Me! Me!"

"You have to change your attitude and actually learn how to love within a year. The odds of that happening are a gazillion to one so we'll just find you a nice cave to stay in for the rest of your life."

Brent jumped up, making the floor shake. Francesca glanced back at us while she dusted the books. "No! I am reversing this spell!"

"You did hear me say you have to learn to love and change your attitude, right? That means you have to humble, caring, and nice to _everyone_, nerds included."

"I'll do it, okay? Give me a year and I'll do all that I can to try to change. I promise."

"Sure, of course you will."

Brent fell onto his knees, making the floor shake yet again. "Please! Let me stay here for one year. I'll read books on how to be nice, I'll watch inspirational movies, I'll be nice to everyone I see, even that annoying French dude." Francesca shot him a death glare and stuck up her chin as she finished dusting the books. "I'll try to learn to love."

It was weird, because he actually sounded sincere. For some reason I was believing him, even if I had a serious lack of faith in his ability to change. I believed he was at least going to try. "Fine, one year and then you're gone if you don't learn to love."

"Thank you. By the way, when is your cook coming to make breakfast?"

I wanted to roll my eyes so badly. "I don't have a cook."

"Oh...okay. I'll make my own breakfast. Can't be that hard." Had he really never made breakfast for himself? "I'll even make you some breakfast."

"I'm not hungry. I'll see you when I get back. Try to, uh, think of ways to be nice until I get back, I guess."

I went back to my room and changed into work-out sweats. I grabbed my iPod before stretching. I left the castle, running along a path that my aunt had made before I moved in. It was exactly two miles long. I blasted my music. It is weird, I have issues walking and going up and down stairs, but when I run with my music, I am perfectly fine. I never trip. Same thing with dancing. I never trip or mess up my footwork when I dance. Apparently I am just like my dad. He was clumsy unless he had music to guide his feet. I guess that is why he died by falling off a tree, even though the branches were at least four feet wide.

I was just jogging up to my door when I saw Ms. Raggs and Justin walking quickly up the path, both looking extremely nervous and worried. I pulled out my earbuds, lowering my music, as I walked up to them. They turned to me. Ms. Raggs looked relieved to have someone there to ask questions but Justin's eyes were full of accusation.

"Where's Brent?" he demanded.

"Well, it's a bit hard to explain," I said, unable to look at either of them. Laurent opened the door for us and I walked in, Ms. Raggs and Justin following me.

"Is Brent here?" Ms. Raggs asked with care. "Or Arthur?"

I was guessing Arthur was Mr. Forde's first name. "They're both here. You actually passed Mr. Forde outside."

"What?" Justin asked, the accusation in his eyes turning to befuddlement.

"He was the car." I tried to say it as casually and normally as I could but it came out in a weird tone. They both looked at me like I belonged in an asylum.

"You mean he was in the car?" Ms. Raggs asked, thinking she was correcting me.

"No, he was the car."

Justin scoffed. "You think you're funny, don't you? We can have you arrested for abduction, you know."

"I didn't 'abduct' Brent. He's-"

"Really? I don't know why else he would go back to your house."

"It's a long story and-"

"I don't want a long story. I want to know what happened to my best friend."

"It's hard to explain without the long story."

"Then try or I'll have the police here in seconds."

"He's a beast. That's the shortest explanation, happy?"

"No, that's a lie. It doesn't even make sense."

"It's the truth. I'm a witch."

Ms. Raggs gasped but Justin just kept on glaring at me. "Stop trying to be funny because it's not working."

"I'm not trying to be-"

"Tell me where Brent is!"

"Stop interrupting me!"

"Stop lying to me!"

"I'm not lying!"

I wished with everything I had that he would turn into what he really was inside, just like Brent had. Instead there was a loud scream as Ms. Raggs fell to the floor. Well, she did not really fall to the floor but kind of shrank to it. Have I ever mentioned that I suck when it comes to aim? And proper wording? I watched as Ms. Raggs transformed from a person to a rag. Well, actually, she was not a rag but a napkin with gold embroidery on some of the corners. Justin stared at Ms. Raggs for a few minutes before staring at me.

"What the hell did you just do, Carly?"

Here we go again.


	5. Chapter 5: Two Long, Long Months Later

I rolled over, placing a cold cloth on my head. Ms. Raggs rested on my nightstand. Francesca dusted my room, babbling about a gourmet dinner Laurent had made her the night before. I was not even half listening. I could hear Justin and Brent screaming with joy as they rode silver platters down the main stairs. Justin had moved in about a month ago to help me keep an eye on the obnoxious as ever Brent. He lasted about two seconds of being nice before seeing a picture of someone with bruises all over them from abuse when we were looking for a charity he could give to or help out at. His eyes had shown horror, then he tried to mask it by making joke after joke about it. I had created a flock of geese to go after him. I had intended it to be a flock of vultures, but I was happy enough that it was some sort of avian creature thing.

I was now offically convinced Brent would never change and would remain a beast forever. His father had visited once but had faked having a meeting to leave. He gave Brent full consent to stay here. As far as the reporters were concerned, Brent was spending a year with an aunt in America. Justin and I still continued to go to school. Ms. Raggs and Mr. Forde did the best they could to help out, which I was very thankful for.

I heard the doorbell ring. I groaned out loud. "Want me to get it, dear?" Ms. Raggs asked. "No, I will," I said. I got up and went to get the door. I was going down the stairs when suddenly someone crashed into me from behind. I went flying through the air before landing painfully on the floor at the bottom of the stairs. Justin had not even reached the bottom of the stairs when he ran over to my side. I rolled over, glad witches had a higher endurance level than mortal bodies when it comes to pain.

"You okay?" Justin asked, truly concerned.

"Fine," I said, standing up and stretching my back a little. "Worse has happened."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. God, why am I so stupid? I always do all this crap and then something bad always ends up happening to someone and-"

"Calm down. I'm fine. It would have been worse if I was hit by-"

"KOWABUNGA!"

Brent took a running start on the landing before jumping on the silver platter and sliding down the stairs at top speed. I rolled my eyes at him. The doorbell rang again. Jeez, are all you mortals so impatient? I walked over to the door, opening it only a little so whoever was there would not see Brent as he came to a halt a few feet away from the foot of the stairs. A young girl with light brown hair in a braid and glasses was standing there, holding a small bucket.

"Hi, I'm Izzy Reel," she said kindly. "I was wondering if you would like to donate to the Leukemia Foundation."

I fished a few bucks out of my pocket. "Here you go," I said, dropping the money in the bucket. The girl gave a huge smile.

"Thank you so much. I was just wondering, but do you happen to know where the nearest bus station is? I'm donating blood in an hour in town."

"Uh..." Okay, so she raises money for a charity and is going to donate blood? Hm...I must find out more about this girl. "You look familiar. Have I seen you in town before?"

"Maybe. I volunteer at the library and soup kitchen a few times a week."

"Oh..." I could have kissed the ground at her feet right at that moment.

"Who is it?" Brent growled. I heard him storming toward the door.

"Brent, no, don't0"

Brent threw open the door. Izzy's face dropped completely and fear covered her whole face. I turned frantically to Justin, who looked just as angry as I felt. He had heard my entire conversation with Izzy and knew that she was who I had been waiting for, the person who would get this stupid history rewind over and done with. Brent growled furiously when he saw Izzy's reaction to him. Right there on the spot Izzy passed out, going ghost white beforehand.

"Dude!" Justin shouted at Brent.

Brent pouted. "She didn't like me!" he defended.

"Because you scared her!" I yelled at him.

"I wouldn't have scared her if you hadn't screwed up!"

"I wouldn't have screwed up if you weren't so horrible and didn't piss me off!"

"Well, I-"

He had nothing to say to that so he stormed upstairs like an angry five year old. Well, an angry five year old in humungous, scary beast form. I suddenly remembered I had an unconscious person lying on my front step. I called for Laurent and Francesca to come help me. Justin picked up Izzy and brought her into the nearest study to lie her on a couch. Laurent walked in then jumped when he saw Izzy.

"Ugh, I hate dead people," he said with a shiver.

I frowned. "She's not dead, she's unconscious. Go get me some water."

"Why?"

"To wake her up."

"Would you want to be woken up by having a bucket of water thrown on your head?"

"Just get water!" Justin shouted at Laurent in frustration.

"Fine." Laurent started walking away, mumbling about how no one cared about his opinion and so on and so forth.

I rubbed my temples to try to get rid of my headache. Justin looked at me sympathetically. "You must be pretty mad at Brent," he said. "Isn't Izzy like the equivalent of Belle or something? Last time I heard the story was five or six years ago when my little sister made me watch it."

I had not known Justin had a little sister. "Yeah, she's like Belle I guess. I should have known Brent would scare away the one person who could possibly help him change. After she wakes up she'll be gone before we blink."

"Sorry that you've had to put up with Brent's crap. He could become a better person, you just haven't gotten through to him."

That was when I snapped, when everything I had been mentally ranting about for the past two months came out. "And why is it up to _me _to be the one to get him to change? Why can't he just do it himself? Ms. Raggs and Mr. Forde try to help, but he thinks their less than him! He doesn't realize this affects more than just him!"

"You're right, he doesn't. Maybe you should-"

"I've been trying to do tihngs! I've been trying to help him, to get it through his skull that the entire world does not revolve around him! He just does not get it! I'm over the edge already, and I've got ten more months of putting up with him!"

"You could probably-"

"Stop telling me that I should do something! I have been doing things! And what have you done besides goof off with him? Why don't you get off your ass and try to help with something other than ruining my silverware and eating all my food?"

"I have been trying to help! 'Goofing off' and joking with Brent is my way of trying to get through to him! It usually works!"

"Is it working now? No! Why? Because Brent is never going to change! He is always going to remain a conceited, jackassy beast!"

"Jackassy isn't a word!"

"I'm too angry to care if it's a word or n-" I realized Izzy was sitting up on the couch, watching us with wide eyes. My face got beet red when I realized she had been listening to our argument for a while. I tried to smile happily. "Helloooo."

"Um, hi," she said weakly. Francesca glanced over her shoulder to watch us from where she was sweeping the floor.

"How are you feeling?"

"Queasy."

She was definitely not the only one. "Just out of curiosity, what was the last thing you remember?"

"A big, scary-"

I sighed heavily. "Beast, yeah, that's what I thought. You heard our argument so it is no use lying to you and saying he is a kind person at heart. He is a son of a bitch, buuuuut," I paused for dramatic effect (us witches like our drama), "we were hoping someone," I winked at her to help get my point across, "could help turn him around. Someone like a library volunteer who fundraises for charities and gives blood."

"Someone like me?"

"No, she just said that mini-speech that over explained everything so she could kick you out," Justin said aggressively. I looked at him inquiringly. What was with his hostility toward Izzy? The sooner she turned Brent around the sooner he and Justin were outa my house, castle, thing.

"By that," I said quickly, "he means would you like to meet Brent? Again? In a slightly less scary way? Like at dinner? Why don't you stay?"

"I don't know," Izzy said quietly. "I mean, I guess it wouldn't hurt, but I just don't know if I should or-"

I fell onto my knees in front of her, clasping my hands together. "Please! Please stay!"

"Okay!"

Her sudden brightness stunned me. I stepped back as she stood up. "I'll be in the bathroom," she said before walking out of the room. How did she even know where the bathroom was? I took a few steps back and turned to face Justin, who had a skeptical look on his face. Francesca finished sweeping and waltzed out of the room. "She seemed nice," she called over her shoulder.

"Yeah," I said uncertainly, "she did."

"Something about her is fishy," Justin said.

"Yeah," I was much more certain as I said that, "something about her is definitely fishy."

***Author's Note***

**Please comment and let me know what you think. What do you think of Carly and Justin ever being more than friends? And what do you think of the "beauty"?**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Francesca went into full out fashionista mode, trying to find an outfit for Izzy to wear to dinner. My aunt had left a bunch of clothes at the castle so Francesca was having a ball. Justin was doing all her could to convince Brent to go to dinner…and to take a freaking shower, even if the shower was small for him. Just get a house and go to work with a supersized bar of soap. Seriously, was it really that hard?

I was currently on my way back from the store where I had been getting some extra ingredients for dinner. After Mr. Forde pulled up in front of the castle I still stayed in the car for a little while. I heard Mr. Forde clear his voice through the speakers. "Something you'd like to talk about?" he asked benevolently.

"Did you see that girl who came to the door earlier?" I asked, looking at the radio like I usually did when I was talking to Mr. Forde.

"Yes. She seemed very nice."

"Yeah, she is, it's just…"

"Just…what?"

"There's something…strange about her. Maybe I was just so excited about finding someone that was so good they could rub off a lot on Brent that I didn't notice something major."

"Well Ms. Raggs and I were talking before we went to the store and she said Izzy seemed like a very pleasant, honest person."

"I guess I was just being kind of paranoid. It's probably nothing." I opened up the door and grabbed the grocery bags off the passenger seat. "Thanks for the ride, Mr. Forde."

"No problem, kiddo."

I struggled to carry the two large brown bags as I walked to the back door of the kitchen. I was almost there when I tripped over my own feet. I managed to turn at an angle so minimum damage was done to the groceries, but not necessarily my spine. I picked myself up carefully, going back to juggling the two bags. Laurent opened the door to the kitchen for me when I got there. Of course he could open the door but he could not offer to help me with the groceries, even after I tripped. I hoped he remembered who paid him. Well, actually, it was my aunt who paid him and she had already pointed out to me that I could not fire anyone on the staff without her consent.

After unpacking the groceries I started in on making dinner. Laurent said he and Francesca would not be joining us because they were going out to her favorite Chinese food place. Laurent hates Chinese food. Ah, the things men do for the women they love. I love being able to have that affect on guys. Well, you know, I would be able to have that affect on a guy if I actually had a guy but Brent totally ruined that because it is kind of hard to say "Do you think you're ready to come home with me to meet my beast?" Sigh, life with a beast is just so damn complicated.

"Boo!"

I screamed, jumping about ten feet in the air and dropping the onion I was using on the floor. I turned to glare at Little Liz. She smirked then conjured up a new onion before making my other one disappear. I just took the onion and started dicing it without a word to my sister. She hopped up on the counter, munching on an apple she had taken from the fruit bowl.

"So whatcha doin'?" she asked.

"Making dinner for me and my guests," I said. It is hard to stay angry at my sister, especially since she is someone like Little Liz so I added, "We found Brent his Belle."

"Oh, really? Sounds interesting. What's she like?"

"Uh, nice, honest, fishy, kind, and generous."

"Fishy, eh? You sure you don't have feelings for Mr. Beasty yourself and that's just the jealousy talking?" I started gagging and Little Liz laughed. "Need some help?"

"Nah, I'm fine. Izzy's still getting ready. I don't even know if Brent's going to dinner. Justin's talking to him."

"Well, if he doesn't show I would love to stay. Not everyday you get to eat a gourmet meal from the best chef in the world."

"I am far from the best chef in the world."

"Stop being modest, you're an amazing chef. I literally heard my taste buds clapping when they ate your chicken parmesan."

I started laughing but my laughing was cut short when someone else decided to pop in. A cold silence filled the room with the arrival of my twenty-one year old sister, Phillipa. She tossed her curly black hair over her shoulder before looking directly at Little Liz without even glancing at me. I clenched both my fists.

"Let's go, Liz," she said sternly.

Little Liz slowly slid off the counter. She gave me a hug before holding up her wand, giving it a little flick, and disappearing. Phillipa looked around the kitchen with pursed lips before looking at me. She at me smirked cruelly.

"I always knew you would never amount to anything more than a servant for a beast," she said.

My nails dug deeper into my palms as she vanished. Like always, I had not said anything against Phillipa's comments about my lack of magical skill. No wonder I was so bad at it. I was always afraid she would yell at me or make comments about how stupid I was if I messed up. When I was younger she would try to help me because I was always behind everyone else when it came to magic. Around when I was ten she started be mean to me if I messed up, which made me even more nervous than I already was. She was always telling me that I would never be anything more than a servant if I ever even got a job and that my life was meaningless because I had no "real" skills. Ever since I got kicked out of the magic world she had not spoken to me. We used to be so close when I was younger…

I turned back to the onion, dicing it quicker as tears started streaming down my face, and it was not just because of the onion's nauseatingly strong scent. I grabbed the bag of carrots, washed them off, and started cutting those too. I tried the best I could to wipe my tears away quickly. When I was younger and I cried I used to always have trouble breathing so I would wrack all over with sobs. Over time I had learned how to breathe properly while crying. Now I always cried silently. What an accomplishment, right?

"Hey, how's dinner, coming?" Justin asked after I heard the door open.

"Fine, I don't have much more before it's ready," I said. "No more than twenty minutes, I'd say."

I did not look up but Justin was walking over when I was talking. He reached for a sliced carrot from the pile before looking at me. I kept watching the last carrot carefully as I sliced it.

"What's wrong?" Justin asked.

"Nothing," I said. "Just an unwelcome visitor."

"I thought I heard you talking to Liz." Justin had met Little Liz a few times during some of her many visits. Brent was always grumpy when she visited and locked himself in his room.

"Yeah, I was talking to her, but then my other sister came to get her."

"I thought you only had one sister."

"No, I have two. Little Liz and Phillipa."

"So you and Phillipa don't get along?"

"She just thinks I'm a worthless lazy ass that will never make anything of my life." I finished slicing the last carrot. I walked over with the carrots to put them with the rest of the vegetables and put a dab of this and that on them. Justin followed me. "Whatever. I don't believe her so you don't have to give me some self-esteem building speech that only a quarter of the guys in the world could come up with and that only one in a million totally understand, that one in a million not being you."

"Well, that just saved me a serious amount of brain power."

I laughed a little, looking up at Justin to see he was smiling at me. "Will Sir Brent be joining us?"

"Yes. And he is currently taking a shower."

"Are you some sort of hypnotist or something?"

He laughed and started walking toward the door. "No, not really. Dinner smells really good, by the way."

I finished dinner just as Francesca and Laurent left to go for Chinese. I saw Laurent sneak some bread and a few snack bars into his pockets. I conjured up a dress quickly and put it on before running back down to the kitchen to bring out the food. I had just set out the pork when Izzy walked in, looking around nervously. I told her to sit down wherever she wanted. She was wearing a dress my aunt had bought in Milan. It was really pretty. She sat down at the end of the table. Okay, so there were only two seats at the table so it is not like her choice was that hard.

I waited around for ten minutes, tapping my foot. Brent did not show up. Izzy looked like she was becoming increasingly nervous. She kept playing with her napkin. Ms. Raggs was in the center of the table, twisting and untwisting anxiously. I had finally had enough and stormed up to Brent's room in the west wing. I pounded on his door nonstop until he opened it. Even after that I gave his face a few good smacks before I stopped.

"Dinner is ready!" I screamed in his face. "Now get your beasty ass downstairs to eat with Izzy!"

"Why?" he asked, baring his teeth. Psh, that so did not scare me anymore. Well, it might still scare me a teeny bit. At least, it scared me enough to make me step back a foot.

"Because I said so!"

"Ugh, fine!"

She pushed me too the side. Since he has become a beast he has still not realized how strong he is. When he "pushed" me to the side I ended up flying halfway down the hall and crashing to the ground. Two bad landings, one day. Please, I beat that record a long time ago. Brent was going down the hall so fast he did not even realize what he had done. It was no big deal. I just got up, shook myself off, fixed my hair, and went back downstairs to eavesdrop on Brent's dinner and make sure he did not screw this damn thing up.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

I ducked as the bowl of salad flew right over my head. Damn, that chick had a good arm for someone so tiny. Maybe she played on a lot of charity softball and baseball teams. I ducked again as Brent chucked a sausage. Had I even made sausage? Okay, so when trying to stop a food-fight never get in the middle of it because you will be doing more ducking than actually stopping them. Some squash hit me in the side of the face, but Brent and Izzy did not care. Let us just say that their argument about the importance of helping out with charities had gotten a little carried away…

"Helping people makes you feel good inside!" Izzy screamed, throwing some corn.

"They'll become too dependent if you always help them!" Brent yelled back, throwing back a handful of carrots.

"Too dependent? You're one to talk! You can't even tie your own shoes!"

"STOP!" I screamed before either of them threw the utensils they were holding. And before Izzy noticed that at the moment Brent's shoes were untied. Izzy put the fork she was holding back on the table shamefully. She looked down at the floor. A piece of bread fell off her head. Brent still gripped the spoon until it was bent in half. Finally he tossed it on the ground. He spun around and stormed out of there.

"Carly, I'm so sorry-"

"Shut it, steroid arm. Brent, get back here! _Now_!" I shouted, cutting off Izzy.

Brent paused in the doorway before storming back to us. "What?" he asked in annoyance.

"Apologize to Ms. Reel."

"No."

"Do it or I turn her into a duck." I pulled my wand out and pointed it at Izzy. Her eyes widened so much they reminded me of flying saucers.

Brent hesitated for little less than a second before saying, "I'm sorry, Izzy, I didn't mean to lose my temper."

"It's fine," she said quietly, looking up at him. "You weren't the only one. I'm sorry too."

"Good," I huffed, more tired than I expected. "Now, Izzy, you may go change into something else and I expect you back here tomorrow for a redo breakfast."

"Uh, okay. Thank you." She hurried out of the room, looking back at least ten times. It would have been so much less stress on her neck if she had just kept her head turned back the whole time or walked backward.

"I can't believe you made me apologize!" Brent complained loudly.

"I didn't," I reminded him.

"Uh, yeah, you did."

"I gave you a choice: you could apologize or I would turn her into a duck." Now, the odds of her actually turning into a duck and not some other creature were rare, so I am glad Brent apologized. "Obviously you care about her a little bit if you didn't want her to leave you so soon."

I left the room, leaving Brent to ponder on what I had just said. I mean, what I had said was true. He had been talking to her for about an hour before the food fight. In that hour he had developed enough feelings for her to do something I had never seen him do: apologize. I smiled when I realized Izzy was already having a positive influence on him. I skipped up the stairs, suddenly filled with joy and energized by this new installment in the Brent chronicles. Justin stopped in the hall when he saw the happy look on my face.

"Does this place have a wine cellar I don't know about or something?" he asked.

"Nope," I replied. "But Brent apologized." I started doing a little dance in place.

"Uh, okay."

I stopped my happy dance. "Okay, maybe you did not hear what I said: Brent Carall _apologized_."

"Ok-Wow, really?" I nodded vigorously. "And I thought I heard a food fight going on."

"You did. That's why he apologized to Izzy."

"But-"

"He apologized so I wouldn't turn Izzy into a duck."

He laughed.

"I know. It's awesome how he already has feelings for her, right?"

"No, I was laughing at the idea of you actually trying to turn someone into a duck."

I glared at him and crossed my arms, even if he was totally right about how comical the idea was. He coughed unconvincingly. "Sorry."

"Anyway, Izzy's coming back for breakfast tomorrow, which means we have to have a cram session with Brent about proper manners. First we'll have to go over the proper reasons to start a food fight…" I turned and started walking away. "When I was spying on him, I also realized he does not look at people when they are talking. He just keeps eating without looking up, every single time. And he-" I realized Justin was not walking with me. I backed up so I was standing next to him, where he was looking down the stairs. "Whatcha lookin' at?"

"That."

I followed his pointed finger. At the foot of the stairs Izzy was scratching her nose. Wait, no, she was no scratching her nose. She was doing something else but she was turned so I could not see what it was. She stopped before I could get a better look. Without a glance back she left the house, slamming the door loudly behind her. I looked at Justin.

"I'm sure she was just-"

"I don't trust that girl," Justin said. "Not one bit."

"Aren't you judging her a bit too soon?"

"That's the second weird thing she's done today."

"So? I do like ten weird things everyday."

"Yeah, but when you do it it's cute, when she does it it's suspicious."

It took me a few seconds to process entirely what he had said. "What?"

Justin coughed unconvincingly again. "I just, uh, don't think she's telling us the whole truth."

"Well, I think she is." Admittedly, that was a half-lie. "If you don't agree with me, that's fine. Just don't ruin this for Brent."

"You really want him out of this house so badly you're willing to trust just about anyone who walks in our door?"

"I don't just want him out of this house, I want both of you out of this house."

"Oh, that's even bet-"

"Let me finish." God, boys are so impatient. "I want you both out of this house so you can do something with your lives. I've heard you playing your guitar and piano. You're great. But, how are you ever going to get anywhere if you're stuck in this castle, house, thingy?"

He paused for a second. Some emotion passed in his eyes that I could not quite figure out. "Fine, I won't get involved. I'll leave Brent's love life to you to worry about."

"Thank you."

"Just watch out for Izzy."

"I will." We nodded to each other and started walking opposite ways down the hall to our rooms.

"Carly?"

I looked over my shoulder "Yeah?"

"Could you tell Laurent to stop slipping red sox into the washer when I'm washing my sheets?"

I laughed. "Maybe."

"Why maybe? What do I have to do to get a definite yes?"

Something about the look in his eye told me he was no longer talking about Laurent's petty shenanigans. "A little bit more than just a simple question."

"I'll be sure to remember that." He kept walking down the hall.

When I turned I saw Ms. Raggs on one of the tables in the hallway. I heard her snicker quietly. "What?"

"Nothing, dear," she said good-naturedly, "nothing at all."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I turned up my iPod as I ran through the woods, starting my second mile. Brent and Izzy were currently having their breakfast. I had promised Brent I would not eavesdrop so he would be more comfortable with Izzy. I had delayed my usual run to make breakfast and left right after they sat down. Now, Brent had just asked me not eavesdrop. He had said absolutely nothing about Ms. Raggs. She was hiding on one of the empty seats, out of Brent and Izzy's view, and was going to tell me all about how the breakfast went.

About seven minutes later I ran over the bridge that crossed the river at the edge of the woods, about a football field's length away from the back of the castle. I opened the back door of the kitchen, checking my watch. Brent was probably done inhaling his food, but I doubted Izzy was done eating. I left the kitchen through a door that led through the dining room (Brent and Izzy were eating in the "breakfast room"). I took a shower and changed into jeans and a sweater before heading toward the study with the portal. Francesca asked me to watch it because she had ordered a special magical feather duster or something. I wanted to check if it had arrived while I was in the shower.

I was passing the main staircase when I heard music floating up from below. I hesitated for a second before deciding to check it out. I walked toward the music room, next to the big ballroom that I still had yet to use for something other than a place to store old school projects. I opened up the music room door quietly, afraid that if I did it too quickly I would mess up the magical sound of the piano as someone played it. I knew who it was before I walked in just by how well they were playing. I closed the door just as quietly as I had opened it before walking over to the piano where Justin was playing, not even looking at any sheet music. He smiled at me before finishing off with a little grand finale of sorts.

"You're really good," I said.

"I believe before you said I was great," Justin said.

"Really good, great, same difference. So you didn't run this morning?" I usually see him running on the same path as me as I am ending my run. I figured I would see him ending as I was starting.

"I went earlier."

I sat down on the bench next to him. I poked one of the ivory keys on the piano. "My dad used to play. He said he was going to teach me but he died before he could."

"Do you still want to learn?"

"Kind of." I poked another key thoughtfully. "I almost did a couple years ago, but I just felt like it wouldn't be as fun if it wasn't my dad teaching me."

"I'll try my best to make it as fun as possible."

I looked at him. "You don't have to."

"I want to."

"How much will it cost?"

"You'll get the friends and family discount, so don't worry about the cost."

"Okie dokie, teach."

I rested my hands on the piano. Justin put his hands over mine. He had to put one arm around me and move closer to me. Neither one of us was complaining or objecting. This only lasted for about one millisecond before a loud honking noise started going off outside. I heard Brent give out a loud growl of frustration and a shriek from Izzy. Justin and I stood up quickly and ran for the door. What had happened _now_?


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"Brent, what did you do no-AGH!"

I screamed and ducked as I walked into the entrance hall. A large black wolf sailed right over me. Justin and I ducked behind a large statue. I peaked out to see Izzy cowering behind another large statue. Brent was smacking aside wolves left and right, knocking out every single one. Outside I heard Mr. Forde's car alarm still going off, the pattern of the honking now more rapid and louder.

"Help me!"

I looked toward the voice. Ms. Raggs was being tossed back and forth between two large wolves. I pulled out my wand, aiming it at them. Justin pulled my wand out of my hand before I was able to cast a spell. "We're already in enough trouble," he said, "no need to blow us up." I nodded right as Brent fell on the two wolves. He placed Ms. Raggs gently on the ground before throwing the two wolves against the stairs. He tackled them. Beast pile!

The few wolves that had not been attacked by Brent cowered away from him when he began toward them, growling menacingly. They scampered back out the door. I ordered Justin to go check on Mr. Forde. I ran out to where Brent was standing in the middle of the hall and watching the door. I held up my hand for a high-five. When he high-fived me I went flying back. I landed on my stomach next to Ms. Raggs.

"You okay?" I asked her.

"Just a little stretched out," Ms. Raggs replied.

I picked her up gingerly as I stood up. I turned to say something to Brent but he was too busy talking to a startled Izzy. She winced a little as he examined her arm. From where I was I could see it was swollen up quite a bit. I walked over quickly to see what I could do. Brent looked at me in distress.

"It's sprained," he said.

"Okay," I said. "I'll go get a bandage and some ice. I've sprained my wrist tons of times." Shocker, huh? "I'll be right back." Izzy winced again as she put her arm back by her side. I elbowed Brent to get his attention. In a very quiet voice I said, "Comfort her."

I jogged up the stairs. Outside I heard Mr. Forde's car alarms shut off. I set Ms. Raggs down on a nearby table. I was on my way to the bathroom when I heard the portal bell going off. RIIIIINNNNNG! I began running to get to the portal before my eardrums popped. When I opened the door to the portal a man in a blue jumpsuit stepped out, checking something off on his clipboard.

"You have no cats in your house," he said.

"Thank you?" I said uncertainly.

"Douglas Douglas, Chief Vermin Inspector."

"Cats aren't vermin."

"We send dogs in to see if there are already cats here to keep mice out. You have no cats, which means now we are sending the cats in to get rid of the mice and other species of vermin."

"I have no mice or other species of vermin."

"Not after my frisky felines get at them."

"Who even hired you?"

"Your aunt."

"Fine. Whatever. Send your cats in."

"Alrighty. Be careful. They tend to bite."

He stepped back into the portal and it closed. Why would I need to worry about a cat's bite? I mean, come on, it was practically nothing. Wait a second…this was someone from the magic world's vermin extermination company… "Oh, crap!" I muttered. I flung open the door to the study but it was too late. I could already hear the snarling and scratching sounds coming from downstairs. I ran to the top of the stairs.

"AGH!" I screamed, ducking again. This time it was a large panther that went over my head.

"_Hai-yah!_" Laurent swung a bat over his head as he ran down the hall. He brought it down right on the panther's head. It walking in a circle a few times before falling down the stairs.

I looked out at the entry hall. Izzy was hiding behind the statue again. Brent was taking down all the cats like a pro, but I could see some scratches and bite marks that were bleeding. With one final toss he threw four cheetahs out the front door. They hissed at him before trotting off. I ran back toward the bathroom, getting more than just a wrap.

Izzy met me halfway up the stairs when I was going down them again with all my First-Aid supplies. In seconds she had perfectly wrapped her wrist. She took all the other supplies from me with her good arm and flew down the stairs. Apparently she thought she had more medical expertise than me. Then again, she did volunteer like everywhere, including the hospital, so I would let her handle this.

Izzy knelt next to where Brent was sitting on the ground, suddenly in _so_ much pain. I mean, so what? He had a few cuts and bruises, it is not like…oh, I see what he is doing now. He was trying to get close to Izzy. Aw, that was so cute, and actually quite clever, even if he was totally faking how severe his pain was. I must say, it was very convincing. Then again, he had played soccer.

"This might hurt a little," Izzy said, pouring something on a cloth. She pressed it against one of Brent's deeper cuts.

"Agh!" Brent shouted. "OW! That hurts!"

"I told you it would hurt."

"Stop it!"

"You're the one who decided to fight the cats!"

"To save you!"

"YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO SAVE ME!"

"I WOULDN'T HAVE HAD TO SAVE YOU IF YOU DIDN'T COME BACK FOR BREAKFAST!"

There was a long silence as Izzy finished cleaning the rest of his cuts and bites. "Sorry," Brent finally said as she began putting some bandages on his wounds. "It's fine," she said, "and thank you for saving me." Brent tried to conceal a smile by looking at the open front doors. Oh, shoot, I had left the doors open. I ran down to close them. I saw Mr. Forde parked in front of the steps. Justin was inside, talking to him. I saw some scratches on Mr. Forde's hood where the wolves had probably jumped on him. I made a mental note to find a car scratch remover next time I went out to the store.

Back inside Izzy and Brent were talking quietly. Izzy was saying how she did not like sports at all and Brent was trying to defend his interest in sports. I heard Izzy say she did not like sports mostly because she was not very good at them. Brent promised to teach her how to play a few, like soccer or baseball, next time he saw her. I looked back to see Izzy's and Brent's faces after Izzy stood up from the floor. She had finished with Brent's wounds a while before.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then, after school," she said, giving him a small wave.

Izzy waved to me also before walking out the door. I stood where I was in the middle of the staircase until I was absolutely sure Izzy was off my property, or at least out of earshot. Then I started screaming and dancing around like a maniac. Brent looked at me, startled. He had been doing that dramatic staring thing where he looked at the spot he had last seen Izzy before she left. Justin walked in and stopped to stare at me while I did my little psycho dance thing. After a mini air guitar solo I pointed at Brent.

"Kick up the charm-o-meter a little tomorrow, 'kay?" I asked.

"Uh, okay," he replied uneasily.

"Awesome! If this keeps up, you'll be human by next week." I started my dance again. "Stop staring at me like that. You _wish_ you could dance this well."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

I zipped up my sweatshirt as I sat down on a lawn chair to watch Brent try to teach Izzy the basics of soccer. It was failing epically but it was kind of cute to watch them. Every now and then they would bicker a little but it never lasted as long as it used to. After and hour of watching Izzy prove how incapable of playing soccer she was I got a serious craving for a blue raspberry ice cream sundae.

Upon entering the kitchen I found Phillipa smirking with her arms crossed. I let the doors swing shut behind me. Of course, I forgot it's a swinging door and it came back to smack me on the back of the head. I stumbled forward, holding the back of my head. Phillipa laughed sourly. I glared at her coldly.

"What do you want Phillipa?" I asked.

"I just wanted to come see how the extermination went," she said.

"You sent them?"

"Yes, under Auntie's name."

"Why?"

"I thought maybe they could get the little beastie out of here."

"Why does it matter to you if Brent's here?"

"It doesn't."

"Then why did you try to get rid of him?"

"Because if the witch council knew you lost a magical blunder in the mortal world then they would permanently ban you from the magic world."

My jaw hung open a little. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Nothing. You're the one with serious problems."

I could not believe any of this. "I'm the one with serious problems? I'm not the one trying to get her sister permanently banned from the magic world, am I?"

Phillipa just rolled her eyes before vanishing. I punched a nearby bag of flour, pretending it was Phillipa's face. I instantly felt guilty. I had to be the bigger woman in this situation. I could not let Phillipa's antics get to me, no matter how annoying or horrible they were. I took one more swing at the bag of flour just to get my anger out.

"Wow, I never knew you had such a swing."

I turned to look at the person who had just spoken. It was a young man, no more than seventeen or eighteen, with black hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a red t-shirt and black jeans, as usual. He took off his black leather jacket and tossed it on the counter carelessly. He hopped up beside it with ease.

"'Sup, Carly?" he asked.

"Stan?" I asked. It had been so many months since I had seen him that I was a little shocked. "Oh my God! Stan! What are you doing here?"

"I heard you were having a, uh, pest problem, so I came to check it out."

"Little Liz told you about Brent?"

"Is he the beast? 'Kay, well, yeah, Little Liz told me then. And didn't you turn some other people into things?"

"Maybe…"

"Are you like the only human being in this house?"

I laughed. "No, there's Laurent, my butler, Francesca, my maid, and Justin, my…friend?"

"So, are you gonna introduce me to the beast?"

"Yeah, sure, he's just-"

The door opened. Izzy walked in with her water bottle, which was empty. She smiled to me but remained indifferent toward Stan. After she filled up her water bottle again she left. I turned back to Stan to finish what I had been saying but he was still staring at the door. I snapped my fingers a few times. His head jerked a little and he looked at me.

"Who was that?" he asked quickly.

"Isabella, she's Brent's-"

"Can you introduce us?"

"Pardon me?"

"Can you introduce Isabella and me?"

"I don't know. Brent might get a little jealous."

"Why?"

"They're kinda, like, uh…"

Stan jumped off the table. "The freaking beast gets her? No way! That's so not fair! That girl is going to be mine!"

"Jeez, Stan, you've got half the girl's in the magic world fawning over you and you want to try to get Brent's girl? Sorry, but I can't allow that."

Stan stared at me. "C'mon, Carly, we're best friends. You gotta help me with this."

"Best friends? This is the first time you've talked to me since I got to the mortal world, and you only came because you heard I had made yet another mistake. Then when you get here you expect me to be your freaking personal eHarmony. I do not play matchmaker, I do not break up two of my _real_ friends so you can get the girl you want, and I definitely do not want to ever see your conceited and effed up ass in this house again unless you want a foot up said ass."

Stan's eyes widened a little before he snatched his jacket off the counter and vanished. Never underestimate the power of words, people, never.


	11. Chapter 11

"CARLY!"

I rolled over with a groan as either Brent or Justin or someone screamed up to me. I had gotten no sleep the night before and they were totally ruining my power nap. When I get really tired I get really cranky so unless they wanted to see a real witch they should just leave me alone. Of course, I knew them leaving me alone was not going to happen because just then my door slammed open. I rolled over quickly.

"Do you not know how to knock?" I demanded of Justin.

"I got in!" he exclaimed. "I got into the band!"

"Not to be rude, but what the hell are you talking about?"

"Before Brent and I moved in I auditioned to be a cellist in this orchestra that's made up of all the best teen musicians in the world." He held up a piece of paper with a huge smile. "I freaking got in!"

"Congrats!"

I jumped up with a smile that was almost as big as Justin's. I went to hug him but tripped. He managed to catch me before I fell on my face but I still got really embarrassed. I could feel my face burning up. I tried to hug him again and succeeded this time. Justin was laughing a little but stopped after a few seconds. We reluctantly pulled away from each other.

"So you get to travel the world and stuff?" I asked.

"Yeah," Justin replied, smiling again. "And if they need me to I can be a violinist or percussionist."

"Awesome. When do you like join up with them?"

"In around September probably."

"Cool."

"Yeah." He scratched his head a little. "Uh, I should probably go do…something."

"Yeah, I guess you should. Congrats. Again."

I hugged him again. When I was pulling away he leaned in and kissed me. Then he kissed me again. And again and again and again. I backed up slowly so I would not trip and ruin it. I sat down on my bed, leaning back against the pillows.

"So, Carly, I was think-"

Justin stood up quickly and jumped back as Laurent walked in. I sat up quickly. Justin and I both tried to look normal but Laurent gave us both quizzical looks. I knew he had not seen anything but he thought something was up.

"As I was saying, Carly, I was thinking we should have dinner a little bit earlier today because Izzy has to leave early," Laurent said.

"Okay," I replied. Izzy had been at my house everyday or every other day to hang out with Brent for almost two weeks. "Sounds great."

"Yes, of course it does, it was my idea. Well, I guess I'll leave." He threw a dirty look at Justin. "Will you be eating out of your red bowl or your blue bowl tonight?"

Justin took a step toward him angrily. I jumped up, pushing him back a little. I turned to Laurent. "Could you please leave? Justin and I were having an important conversation about Brent."

Laurent rolled his eyes. "Of course you were."

"We were!"

"Mhm, I totally believe you. See you at dinner, Carly, Justina."

I held Justin back again as Laurent walked out of the room with a little spring in his step, closing the door behind him. Justin wrapped his arms around my waist. He pushed my hair back and started kissing my neck. I smiled at first but then I had one of those moments where you remember something you really wish you had not. In this case, all I could remember was when my dad died. All I could see was my mother's tearstained and haggard face crumbling even more as she looked in the casket, looked at the man she loved, even though he was no longer there. What if I fell in love with Justin? What if something horrible happened to him? What if he died? I remembered the severe pain after my father died, the pain that was still there. I would not go through that again; I _could not_ go through that again.

I pulled away from Justin slowly. I sat down on the edge of my bed. Justin looked down at me. "What's wrong?" he asked. I did not look up at him. "I'm sorry," I said, "but please just go." He stayed for a few more seconds before he left without a word. I lied down on my bed. For almost two hours I just lied there, staring up at my ceiling with no real intelligent thoughts passing through my brain. There was a soft knock on my door. I sat up to see Izzy standing there.

"Dinner's ready," she said.

"Sorry, but I'm really not hungry," I responded.

Izzy frowned a little. "Justin's not eating either. Is everything okay with you guys?"

"Yeah, everything's fine." My stomach suddenly grumbled. "Actually, never mind. I'll be down in a few seconds."

Izzy left as I got up. I brushed my hair a little before slipping on some shoes and going downstairs for dinner. I sat at my usual spot. Brent and Izzy began chatting away about this and that. I stabbed my asparagus vehemently. Well, wasn't it great for them that their love life did not totally suck?


	12. Chapter 12

"Heya, Izzy," I said as I walked into the living room.

"Hey, Carly," Izzy replied, closing a sketchpad she had been drawing in. I guess she was one of those people who hated to have other people see her work.

"What's up?" I sat in the chair near the couch where Izzy was sitting.

"Just waiting for Brent. He got grass stains all over his jeans so he wanted to change before we went for a walk."

Awwwww, now Brent even wanted to look good for Izzy. "You're still undergoing Camp Brent?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so. I love Bre-I love hanging out with Brent, but I just suck at sports."

I smiled brightly. "You were just going to say you love Brent, weren't you?"

She blushed a bright red. "No, of course not. So, what's going on with you and Justin?"

"Nothing. He's just teaching me piano." Justin had still been giving me piano lessons for the past few days but they had been kind of awkward and Justin was always distant when we talked outside of the lessons.

"Please, I can tell he's way into you."

"Nah, he's not…but, uh, say he was, how could you tell?"

"He's displaying typical signs of a male that likes a female. He's trying to get your attention, help you, impress you-"

"Couldn't you just say boy and girl?"

"Pardon?"

"You said male and female. It sounded really scientificy."

"Oh…I just really like science."

"Yesterday you said you hated science."

"No, I didn't."

"Uh, yeah, ya did."

"No, I didn't."

_BANG!_ Stan appeared sitting in the couch opposite from Izzy. He propped his feet up on the table and stretched his arms. "Hello, Isabella," he said to Izzy with a cocky smile. Izzy raised a disturbed eyebrow. I sighed heavily. "Get away, Stan," I ordered. "Why don't you introduce me to your lovely friend first?" he suggested. I got up, walking over to the couch. I sat next to Stan, who was still eyeing Izzy. I touched his arm with my left hand. He turned his head slowly to face me as I dragged my hand up his arm, to the back of his neck. "I knew it," he whispered quietly as I pulled him closer, "I always knew it."

I punched him in the gut with my right hand.

"UGH!" Stan groaned as he doubled over. I stood up quickly in disgust.

"You said you wanted to meet my lovely friend," I pointed out. I held up my fist, examining it. "I would consider this a lovely friend."

I pulled my wand out. I said a quick spell in my head as I flicked my wand and Stan was gone. I had meant to send him back to his home in the magic world but I have no clue if that is even where he ended up. I would find it kind of depressing if this was the only time my magic actually worked. When I sat down again I noticed an extremely nervous look on Izzy's face.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"It's just, in the old tale, there was that guy Gaston who wanted to kill the beast," Izzy said nervously.

"Trust me, Stan won't lay a hand on Brent."

"I hope not."

"I'll see you around. I need to go…do laundry."

I walked slowly out of the room but once I got to the main hall I began sprinting toward the staircase. I ran up the stairs and down the halls until I came to Justin's room. I heard music playing inside. I did not even bother to knock but barge right in. Justin was lying on his bed in jeans and a t-shirt just reading a magazine but he looked ready to flip. He threw the magazine down at his side.

"You can't just walk into people's rooms!" he exclaimed, sitting up.

"Barged," I corrected. I closed the door so Brent and Izzy would not hear.

"What?"

"I barged in, I didn't walk in."

He rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever. You can't just barge into my room. You have to knock or yell or some-"

I sat down at the edge of the bed. I waved my hands to silence him. "Shut up, that's not important. I told you about Stan right?"

"You went on some annoyingly long speech but all I caught was 'douchebag' and 'likes Izzy'."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Whatever, that's all you really need to know. Well, he just came back to try to hit on Izzy but I punched him."

"This is relevant because…?"

"In the beauty and the beast tale there's this guy named Gaston who tried to kill the beast because he has Belle."

"So…you think this Stan guy will try to kill Brent because he likes Izzy but Izzy likes Brent?"

"Yes."

"But Stan doesn't even know Izzy."  
>"Doesn't really matter. Witches and warlocks can be very passionate…and bipolar."<p>

"I've noticed the bipolar part."

"Could you please not let your personal feelings get in the way of this? Brent could seriously be in trouble."

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

I stood up. "And don't just assume I'm some bipolar bitchy witch who plays mind games. There's a hell of a lot you wouldn't understand."

Justin stood up. "A hell of a lot _I_ wouldn't understand? What? Did your mommy forget to send you cookies so now you hate the world?"

"Shut up! You don't know anything!"

"I know that you're a spoiled brat who doesn't know what it really feels like to be in pain!"

My eyes began to burn and tears streaked down my cheeks. Justin's face fell as he realized what he had said. I turned and ran from the room as he stepped toward me. I slammed the door to my room behind me when I got there. I flopped onto my bed, sobbing into my pillows. After I was all sobbed out I sat up, looking at my nightstand. There was a picture of my entire family before my dad died. It was when Little Liz was, well, she has always been Little Liz. It was when Phillipa was nice to me. It was when my mother did not so easily testify against me in court and give her consent to have me banned from the magic world. It was when she would have at least talked to me besides just a letter saying I was in a sticky-wicket and that history was repeating itself. It was when my father was alive.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"Why did you never get married?" Francesca asked Ms. Raggs a few days later when we were all sitting around the library. Francesca was supposed to be dusting, Ms. Raggs was resting on the couch, Izzy was reading a science magazine but still listening, and I was just sitting in a big comfy chair with a carton of ice cream. I had not talked to Justin since our last fight, just F.Y.I.

"I was engaged," Ms. Raggs said, "but then it turns out he was cheating on me. For long time after that I never trusted men. I got this job, being Brent's nanny, four years after the engagement was broken off. For the past seventeen years I haven't had time for dating."

"Who was he cheating on you with?" Izzy asked. She fixed her dangly earrings.

"Some tramp with no future. They broke up shortly after the engagement was called off. She was a fake blond."

"It's curious, isn't it, how the male always seems attracted to the 'hotter' girl? That is, in my observations, how it always seems."

"I guess…" Ms. Raggs shifted uncertainly. "You're certainly very observant."

Izzy blushed a little and looked back down at her magazine. "My entire family is. That's why my parents are such great scientists. They're archaeologists. They're actually working on a dig in Peru right now. I'm staying with my sister."

"She's going in for a bio-chem major, right?" Francesca asked.

"Yup."

"So where are my two fine young boys?" Ms. Raggs asked, moving to the right a little.

"Dunno," I responded glumly. "Brent's probably out in the woods." I stabbed my spoon into the carton of ice cream. Fear me, cookie dough! "Justin's been cooped up in the music room all day I think."

Ms. Raggs sighed happily. "He's such a great musician. I don't see how…"

"Don't see how what?" Francesca asked. She leaned in eagerly.

"You see, Justin came to live with us when he was fourteen and-…Never mind. It's not my place to tell you his story."

"Yes, it is."

"No, it's not Francesca."

"Well, Carly should be told his story. They quite fancy each other." She winked at me.

I stood up and walked out of the library without saying anything else. I brought the half empty ice cream carton into the kitchen to put in the giant fridge. I began pulling out random ingredients, deciding to make whatever I could throw together for dinner. I was just pulling out the carrots when Laurent walked in through the back door.

"I hope you're making something good," he said. "I heard Izzy and Brent were planning on having a special dinner. I thought Izzy was going to ask you about it."

"Oh, well, I guess I'll just start it. Maybe they changed their plans or she just hasn't asked me yet," I said. "Can you go tell her I'm starting it, then. And tell Francesca that yes, she can use some of my dresses for Izzy."

"They already got one. They went shopping together yesterday afternoon. She and Francesca have been spending a lot of time together." The way he said it sounded like he was no too happy about that.

"You don't like Izzy?" It would not be shocking. Laurent did not usually like people until he had known them for a while or unless they were rich.

"I just think she's a bit…" He trailed off.

"A bit what?"

"Sketchy."

"You think Izzy's a bit sketchy? We're talking about Isabella Reel, right? The super smart bookworm that is into volunteer work and helping people and can't play a sport for her life?"

"Have you done a background check on her yet?"

"Why would I do a background check on someone like her? I can tell you with one hundred percent assuredness that I trust Izzy."

"Okay, whatever you say. I'll go tell Francesca."

He walked out of the kitchen with a knowing look. I tried to forget about what he had said as I made dinner. I went through everything on autopilot because my mind kept wandering elsewhere. By the time I was done I almost did not even realize that I was bringing it out to the dining room. Brent and Izzy were sitting at opposite ends. They were both dressed up all fancy and stuff. Brent had on a suit that, oddly enough, fit him properly. Izzy was wearing a nice dress that I had gotten a while ago for some sort of party that called for a fancy dress you only wear once in your life. She was not wearing her glasses.

After I brought out their dinner I went up to the study. Ms. Raggs and Justin were talking in the two large green chairs. I would have turned and run out of the room but I knew that that was not a good way to deal with this. Justin and I could live in a peaceful coexistence if we just kept quiet around each other and kept a good distance away. I could tell he understood that as I walked over to where my laptop lay open on the desk. I hit the spacebar so the black screen came to life.

I glanced back a little. Justin and Ms. Raggs were both engrossed in their conversation about the orchestra Justin got into. I turned back to the laptop and clicked on the Internet. I remembered Justin said he would have to leave in around September. That was about, what, eight months away? I could live with Justin for eight more months. We only had school for five more months. If by the end of that time Brent was back to human form both of them would be out of my house anyway so I would not have to see Justin all day everyday during the summer.

I focused back on the laptop screen. I typed "Isabella Reel" into the search bar on Google. I was just about to hit the enter button when there was a loud screeching sound throughout the entire house. I exited out of the window before running out of the room to see what the commotion was. Laurent was running up the stairs as I was running down.

"Everything's fine," he panted. "The fire alarm was just set off by some of the candles."

"Dude, you're sweating," I said.

He stopped when he was on the same step as me. "These stairs are steep."

I rolled my eyes at him. "You really need to work out more, buddy."

I patted his shoulder before jogging down the rest of the steps to make sure Brent and Izzy's dinner had not been ruined. I was glad to see it had not. When I went back upstairs to get my laptop I had totally forgotten what I was doing before the fire alarm went off.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Fast forward six months and where am I? Why, I am sitting next to Francesca on lawn chairs with Ms. Raggs resting in a basket next to me, basking in the warmth. "Ah, I love summer," I said. I stretched my arms, smiling up at the July sun. "Me, too," Francesca said. "You know, Izzy's birthday is tomorrow. We should throw a huge party for her." "No, no, no," Ms. Raggs disagreed. "The less attention we draw to ourselves the better."

I nodded in agreement with Mr. Raggs. I looked out at where Brent and Izzy were just walking out of the forest, hand in hand. Well, hand in paw, I guess. It was weird. I hardly even realized what Brent looked like now. Ever since he had started dating Izzy he had just…changed. He was nicer, mellower, friendlier. We hardly ever argued. He complimented people a lot. He did not get p.o.'d if he did not get what he wanted. He was even thankful for what he did have. I must say, I was very impressed.

"You know, that would be the perfect time for Brent to tell Izzy how he feels about her," I said.

"Well, duh, of course it would," Francesca said. She took a sip of her iced tea. Wasn't she supposed to be vacuuming the dining room? "We'll have to get her a new dress…"

"I'll leave that to you."

I took a sip of my own iced tea. Ms. Raggs and Francesca began to talk about the details of Izzy's party. I watched Izzy and Brent as they walked into the house. Izzy played with the dangly earrings she wore a lot. Mr. Forde pulled up into the circular driveway and Justin jumped out of the back seat. I got up discreetly and jogged over. Justin thought I was going to talk to Mr. Forde like I do on a daily basis, but this time I jogged to catch up with him on the steps.

"You're leaving for that orchestra thingy in September, right?" I asked.

"No," he said sharply. Even though he had still been giving me piano lessons things had been really strained between the two of us for the past six months. Admittedly, it felt like someone was stabbing or shooting me right through the heart just to think of how things had been.

"Oh, well, you'll be here this weekend, right?"

"Yeah. Actually…"

I raised an eyebrow.

"I'm leaving a month early so I can get some sightseeing in before I start practicing."

"Okay, cool. Well, you see, we're going to have a party for Izzy, I guess, and I think she'd like it if you were there."

"Uh…okay." He knew as well as I did that he and Izzy were pretty indifferent toward each other. "Sure, sounds cool." He started back up the steps.

"When are you leaving?" I asked quickly. "Like, when's the exact date?"

"Next weekend."

BANG! There goes that bullet right through my heart. I gave a smile anyway. "Cool. I hope you have fun."

"Me too. Oh, by the way, could I maybe bring Natalya to the party? I'm guessing Brent won't be there while other people are, so-"

"Yeah, sure, that's fine." BANG! Shit, those bullets really need to stop or at least give me a warning signal. "I'd love to meet her."

Justin nodded. "'Kay."

He slammed the door shut behind him. BANG!


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

I was in the middle of putting the finishing touches on the absolute biggest and best birthday cake I had ever made when suddenly someone popped in to appear on the counter. I jumped, screamed, and turned to see Little Liz sitting there calmly while licking the frosting off the beaters. I took it from her crossly to throw it in the sink.

"Hey, I was licking that!" she protested.

"Well, go lick something else," I ordered. "I have to finish this for Izzy's party tomorrow."

"Oh, Izzy's having a party? Where?"

"Here. She's inviting a bunch of people from her school and then after we're going to have a small party."

"Awesome. Let me guess, Francesca's taking her out shopping for a dress right now?"

"No, she's looking for a dress with her sister. Francesca's shopping with Brent in the magic world. Even for a beast he's quite large so we need to get him a suit that fits well."

"Yeah. So, what's up with you and Justin? Last time I asked you, you tried to change the subject."

"Really? I did? Do you think these roses are too big?"

"They're fine." Liz got off the counter. She took the frosting gun away from me, possibly to stop me from finishing decorating while we talked and possibly to take away a potential weapon. "What's up with you and Justin?"

"Nothing. We're just friends now. Less than that, actually, we're just two people who live in the same castle. He has a new girlfriend. Her name's Natalya. She's a Russian model."

"Oh, I met a Russian model named Natalya once. She had a huge nose and a unibrow."

I smirked a little. "I hope it's the same Natalya. That jerk deserves it."

"So what exactly did you two fight about? You haven't told me in the six months since you first told me you had that fight. You do realize it's been six months, right?"

"Yes, Little Liz, I do, thank you very much. And he said I don't know what it's like to feel pain. What a jerk, right? I mean, my dad freaking died, that's the only reason I didn't want to rush things with him. Then he had to go and freak out and say that and I don't know why but it just hit a nerve and after all this stuff with Brent I just thought Justin was my one-"

"Carly?"

"Yeah?"

Little Liz pointed behind me hesitantly. I already knew Justin was standing behind me so no need to rush anything. I took off my apron with heavy sigh. Little Liz disappeared as I began cleaning everything up. I went to open the huge fridge door but Justin beat me to it. Jerk, he even doubts I can open a freaking fridge by myself. I got the huge cake anyway. It was hard to balance but I managed to do it. I began walking toward the fridge.

I must have forgotten to sweep because my foot suddenly slipped on some vegetable oil I had spilled earlier. I fell right on my witchy ass as the cake flew through the air and then got pulled back to earth by stupid gravity, right on top of my head. I know, I know, I should have been bawling my eyes out because a cake I had just worked on for hours had just fallen on top of my head because I had acted like a klutz yet again but for some reason I just could not manage to cry about it. All I could picture was how comical it must have looked to Justin and I began cracking up.

I had already started getting up when I realized Justin had offered his hand to help me up. I was still laughing when I stood up. Justin stared at me seriously for a few seconds before starting to laugh too. I felt chunks of cake fall out of my hair.

"Bet your Russian model doesn't do that," I said.

"No, she doesn't," Justin said. He stopped laughing to look at me seriously again. "What you were saying to Liz-"

"I wasn't saying anything to Liz."

"Carly, you were saying-"

"Justin, listen to me: I was not saying anything to Little Liz."

"But-"

"Just shut up and throw on an apron. You're going to help me bake a new cake."

"Carly-"

"Just get an apron. Help me out, it's what friends do."

"What friends do?"

"Yes, what friends do."

He looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "Just friends?"

I tried to manage a small smile but I do not know how convincing it was. "Yes."

He seemed a little bit disappointed. "Then point me to the aprons, Chef Carly."

***Author's note***

**Please review!**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

I slammed the door with finality behind the last of Izzy's friends to leave, heaving a little bit of a sigh of relief. A few of Izzy's friends had been what you would call obnoxious, irresponsible, arrogant, ignorant, immature, all of the above…But then again, a few had been awesome, even if they did seem a little bit too old to be in high school. Even Izzy seemed a little exhausted when I walked into the ballroom to find her sitting at one of the tables, her long dress a great color for her. Francesca and Laurent were dancing out in the center of the dance floor. Ms. Raggs was sitting on one of the tables, and Mr. Forde was parked right outside one of the windows. I waved to him just as Justin walked into the room, looking a little fluster.

"Have a good time?" I asked him once he had walked over. He and Natalya had been anything but inseparable the entire night because she had been grinding her size double zero ass on any guy she saw that was not named Justin Wright.

"No," he said very shortly. He was still really cute when he was angry.

"You and Natalya get in a fight?"

"Maybe. How could you tell?"

"I can read minds."

"Brent!" Izzy gasped before Justin could say anything.

I turned around to see Brent walking into the ballroom in his little beasty tuxedo. I felt my eyes start to sting a little as my heart swelled with pride when he bowed to Izzy, offering his head out to her to dance. She hesitated for a second before curtsying back then taking his hand and letting him lead her out onto the dance floor. The CD was full of all classical music (it was Laurent's) but the next song was a particularly good one for dancing along to. Izzy and Brent moved across the dance floor with as much grace and passion as Laurent and Francesca, if not more. I turned back to Justin to continue with our conversation, even though, admittedly, I had forgotten what it was about.

"Natalya and I did get in a fight," he finally said after a few seconds. "We're done."

"So you won't feel like a cheating jerk if we dance?" I asked, raising an eyebrow hopefully.

"I don't dance."

"Aw, why not?"

"My mom danced."

"And?"

He scratched his nose, looking down. "It's been a long night. I'll see you tomorrow, Carly."

He hurried out of the ballroom like the place was a haunted house full of ghosts that had been tormenting him to no end. Trust me, I had had that happen to me before and this was way better. I plopped my witchy patootie down on one of the cushioned chairs at the table as I watched the two couples dance across the dance floor, never seeming to tire. Eventually Mr. Forde fell asleep, his motor making a very faint, snoring-like sound. Ms. Raggs also fell asleep, too, poor woman had been up day and night getting ready for this party. By around twelve-thirty Francesca and Laurent were done and they headed off to their quarters. The only couple left was Brent and Izzy, just staring into each other's eyes as they continued to dance, like their feet were tiny machines that never tired of moving.

I got up to walk out of the ballroom but found myself drawn toward the large piano in the corner that had remained unused for quite some time now because Justin always used the one in the music room. I lifted the cover off the keys, placing my fingers lightly on the keys to try to remember what Justin had taught me over six months ago. I could hear a sound in the back of my mind, a melody of a song my dad had played a long time ago. My hands found the keys before my mind did. Soon I was playing totally by ear, the sound of the piano drowning out the classical music. Izzy gave me a smile when I glanced up. I smiled back, then looked back down at the keys.

"_Tale as old as time_,"Ms. Raggs sang sweetly in a slightly tired voice from her resting spot atop the table, "_Song as old as rhyme, beauty and the beast._"

"CARLY!"

I woke up slumped over the piano with a terrible ache in my back and in my head. I sat up to find that the entire ballroom was a mess that I had not noticed the night before when I had been all in the zone and stuff. Francesca ran into the room, stopping mid-way through screaming my name. She sat down on the bench next to me with an exasperated sigh.

"I've been looking for you all morning!" she exclaimed. "Go start getting ready! Your mom is going to be here for lunch."

"Wait…she's coming today?" I asked.

"Yes! Now go get ready! I'll clean this mess up…"

Francesca looked out over the ballroom with extreme distaste on her face but she nevertheless stood up to start cleaning it up before my mother's long-awaited visit for lunch. I ran out of the ballroom to get to the bathroom. I was almost there when Brent decided to be all big and tall and crap and totally block my back by simply stepping in my way.

_"What_?" I demanded of him. Mornings are not always my best time…

"Why am I still a beast? I'm in love with Izzy, but I'm still a beast!" he complained, stamping his feet and waving his fist to add emphasis. "Why?"

"Ask my mom when she gets here for lunch. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go take a shower."

"Answer me first."

"If I knew the freaking answer would I have told you to ask my mom? No, now please, move!"

He stared me down for a few more seconds but eventually stepped to the side so I could get by and get into the bathroom. Almost two hours later I was sitting in a chair in the dining room, the entire room completely silent aside from the clattering of tea cups and utensils. As usual my mother and I were finding it hard to think of things to say to each other that stretched beyond the weather (which we had already talked about) and the health of family members (which we had also already talked about).

"Your room will be ready when you return," she finally said, setting her tea cup down gingerly. "It's all cleaned and everything."

"Isn't it a bit early? I'm not allowed back for another two months," I told her.

"Weren't you informed? I swear they sent Phillipa with the message…"

"What message?"

"You are getting off with only ten months of banishment due to good behavior while hear in the mortal world."

"I can go back?"

"In two weeks."

"Two weeks? But…but…do you think Auntie would mind if Justin and Brent stayed here for a couple more months? Justin would be leaving in August and Brent will actually be gone in a few days, probably, but just to be sure I should ask-"

"I'm sure she'll approve of it. Is Brent still looking for his love?"

"That's actually something I need to talk to you about. He has, actually, found his 'love', but when he told her he loved her the other night, nothing happened."

"Did she say she loved him?"

"I don't know. I actually don't even know if he told her…"

"He has to tell her, or show her, in some way, or the curse will not be broken."

"But-"

She checked her clock quickly. "Oh dear, I have to run. Phillipa has a fitting for her wedding dress this afternoon and-"

"Phillipa's getting married?"

"Yes, she's been engaged for almost eight months now. She sent out the invitations a few weeks ago. Didn't you get one?"

"No." How had I not noticed Phillipa's ring?

"And you didn't know about the engagement?"

"No, Mother, I did not."

She sighed in annoyance. "Would it really kill you to make some effort to be a part of Phillipa's life?"

I stared at her, looking right into those glassy eyes that were the same color gray as mine but yet bore no resemblance to my eyes whatsoever. "Yes, Mother, I think it would."

She seemed quite startled by my response. "It's not that hard to-"

"Not that hard to what? Ask the person that hates you how they've been, what's new in their life? Phillipa's about as much as a sister to me as you are a mother to me."

"Carly!"

"You were the one who suggested the banishment, I know it. You wanted to be rid of me, your shamefully incompetent daughter that had no future. It was a relief for you to be rid of me."

"I just thought that if you were on your own you would-"

"Would what? Want to stay on my own? Well, I don't, I want an actual family. I'll move in with Uncle George."

"If you even think about moving in with him and that bitch of a wife of his then-"

"Auntie Marie is a sweetheart, and that is the absolute only reason you hate her. Now, if you would so kindly as to get your ass out of that chair and out of my house-"

"Do not speak to me like that, young lady!"

"Too late."

I stood up, tossing a slightly arrogant smirk at my mother before walking out of the dining room where Francesca, Laurent, and Ms. Raggs were all leaning against the wall to try to listen in to what had been going on. I went up to my room without making eye contact with any of them. Immediately after I got into my room I began writing a letter to my Uncle George in the magic world, explaining to him about everything that had happened. By the time I was done I had written almost five pages and my hand was cramped up like no tomorrow. I sent it to the magic world after putting the proper amount of stamps on it.

On my way back to my room I had another encounter with Brent, which I had been expecting the entire day. Although I had been expecting it I still had no idea how to go about talking about what my mother had told me, mostly because it was something that my mother had told me. I was entirely shocked when the first words out of his mouth were not, "Why the hell am I still a beast?" In fact, I was so shocked that I had to ask him to repeat what the first words out of his mouth were because I had totally missed them.

"STAN IS HERE!"

Yup, do not ask me how the hell I missed that one.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

"Here?" I asked, just to make sure I was understanding precisely what Brent was telling me. "Here as in here here? As in at this castle?"

"Yes, and he's currently trying to use magic to break down the door," Brent said. I could tell it was taking all he had not to explode into a million little fiery bits of pure anger. "He wants Izzy."

"Is she here?"

"Yes, in the library."

"Well, what the hell are you still doing here? Go to her! Protect her!"

"But everyone else-"

I heard a suddenly loud THUD as the ground shook a little. I instantly knew it was Stan trying to get into the castle. "Everyone else is going to help me stop him. Do you know if he has anyone with him?" At that moment I heard a loud cheer go up through what sounded like a pretty large crowd. "Lovely. Now go protect Izzy!"

I did not have to tell him again after that. He took off down the hall, turning on the grand staircase and basically jumping all the steps down to the level where the library was. I followed him but at a slightly less rushed pace. Instead of jumping down the stairs I used my wand to send a message out to every member of the household that informed them of what was going on. I saw Justin come out of the music room immediately, and Francesca and Laurent came running from the direction of their quarters.

"_Witches' eye meet witches' ear to bring these objects to life to get these wild beasts out of here_," I chanted, holding my wand up. It was not the best I could do, but hey, I was on a tight schedule here.

All around tables, chairs, rugs, couches, books, banners, everything that was inanimate, sprang to life, stretching in preparation for Stan and his crew as the lock on the door started to break bit my bit. I began walking down the stairs as Francesca, Laurent, and Justin moved to join me. I saw Ms. Raggs sitting anxiously on top of one of the coffee tables. I held my wand up, ready to shoot some pretty nasty spells at anyone that dared to cross my path. Or, at least, I was going to attempt to shoot some pretty nasty spells at anyone that dared to cross my path but I was definitely not making any promises that they would turn out as planned. Justin took one look at me and knew what I was thinking.

"Don't overthink it," he cautioned me. "Just do what you do when you play the piano, play it by ear and instinct."

I tilted my head to the side. "How did you know I've been playing the piano?"

He winked at me. "Let's just say I've got an ear for music."

"Could you two please save the smoochy fest for any time but now?" Laurent yelled at us in exasperation.

I turned him into a candle. Hey, it was the best I could think up at the moment. Francesca swept him up off the ground but snickered a little before lighting him up and pointing him toward the door. She used some magic to make the flame really long so it was like a sword of fire. So I shut Laurent up and added a flaming sword to our arsenal. Talk about a two for one deal!

The lock broke, and all hell broke loose. Literally, all hell broke loose. Apparently back in the magic world Stan had befriended far more demons than I had given him credit for. They all swooped in with hideous cries that made you want to chop your ears off. I spotted Justin take a shield and sword from a nearby knight statue. The knight seemed a little confused but I conjured up a new sword for him before he realized what had happened. When I looked back in front of me a huge demon was flying right toward me.

An arrow pierced through the demon. I turned in the direction where the arrow had come from to find, but who, Little Liz. She looked like the child of a warrior goddess, all decked out in armor with a bow, arrow, sword, and knife. I did not spot her wand anywhere on her. How the hell was she expecting to fight without her wand?

"Demons only die the manual way," she informed me. She pulled the sword and knife out of their sheaths. "Think fast, Carly."

I tossed my wand under a nearby table before stretching my arms out to catch the knife and sword by the handles. "Seven o'clock," Little Liz yelled at me. I spun, holding up the knife so it went right through the demons heart, or at least where the heart should have been. I did not even pay attention to the other people fighting around me as I made my way down the stairs, killing any demon that was within my reach, whether they were my fair game or not.

Then the biggest demon of all decided to drop in on the party, baring his disgusting fangs and all. Seriously, was it that hard for these things to floss at least once a day? I pity their dentist. I kept my eye on the large demon as it steadily flew toward me at the foot of the stairs where I was killing as many demons as I could with some pretty amateur moves.

The demon finally reached me, with a very gruesome and cruel smile, might I add. I held up my knife and sword to point it at him with what I hoped was a threatening appearance, even though I was quaking like hell in my ballet flats. The demon shot toward me with speed that I was not expecting. I did not have time to shift my sword and knife into a defensive gesture. The demon, surprisingly enough, just smacked me back with his wing. At first I found this very strange, even though I ended up sprawled painfully on the floor about twenty feet away. I tried to get up with some difficulty.

A foot came down on my shoulder to pin me back down to the floor. I stared up at Stan's arrogant face looking down at me with pleasure on his face. That was the last thing I saw before he pulled his boot back and brought it crashing against my head.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Brent rushed onto the landing just in time to see Stan kick Carly in the head so hard that she ended up blacking out. Laurent and Justin, who had been fighting a group of demons back to back, saw this happen too. Justin chopped off three demon heads with the sword he had acquired before running over to Carly. Stan pulled his sword out, pointing it at Justin. Brent knew that Stan had chosen to mess with the wrong guy. Justin had taken fencing lessons from when he was three up until he was fourteen and moved in with Brent.

Still, Brent was not going to let Justin get all the glory of tearing Stan's magical ass to bits. Brent leaped up on the railing and slid down with his arms out for balance. A demon flew at him but he gave it a good, bloody gash in its chest with his claws. Now was about the only time he was thankful for being a beast.

He flipped over the post at the end of the stairs and ducked a spell cast by one of Stan's warlock buddies. "Where's your pretty little girlfriend?" the warlock taunted behind Brent. "Lock her in a tower to keep her safe?" Brent spun, growling right in the warlock's face, making sure saliva dripped from his mouth as he bared his sharp teeth. The warlock tried to act brave but ended up passing out from fear.

When Brent turned again he saw Justin sweating as he tried desperately to get a mark on Stan but he was having no luck whatsoever. Stan was good, really good. Justin's arm was bleeding and so was a cut on his cheek. Brent growled as he ran toward Stan angrily. Stan turned to face him, smiling grimly. He held up his sword before Brent could manage to stop or slow down at all.

A flaming arrow came out of nowhere, incinerating the sword completely and continuing on until it pierced through one of the demons. Both Brent and Stan froze, turning to look at who had shot. They spotted a skinny girl standing on the stairs with a bow and arrow in her hands. She had long brown hair that was pulled back into a braid and gray eyes that looked like Carly's.

"Little Liz?" Stan asked, shocked. "What are you doing here?"

"What the hell does it look like I'm doing here?" she snapped at him. "Now step away from Brent before I send another one of my fancy, fiery arrows right through your face."

His look changed entirely, becoming so wicked that Brent began to get an uneasy feeling in his stomach. "Wow. You've changed a lot."

"Can't say you have. I always knew you were a slimy, conniving little bastard."

Stan squinted his eyes as he looked closer at Little Liz. Brent looked at Justin nervously. Justin was giving Little Liz a warning look but she did not seem to notice because she was too busy glaring at Stan. Suddenly Stan clapped his hands with a determined look on his face. Instantly Little Liz's bow and arrow disappeared and her wrists became bound by a thick rope.

"Why settle for just Izzy when I could have both her [i]_and_[/i] you?" Stan asked, walking toward her.

"Don't even think abou-" Brent began, but it was too late. Stan had already snapped his fingers, and then Little Liz vanished.

"You sick little-"

Justin never finished his sentence because a large group of demons fell upon him at Stan's command. He slashed about violently with his sword but it was not doing much damage against them. Brent began clawing and biting wildly next to him, whacking the demons aside and trying to tear off various different limbs. It seemed like hours of fighting with them had gone by before Justin stuck his sword through the last demon in the room.

"Where's Stan?" Francesca asked, her hair a mess from the fighting and her shirt bloody, not necessarily from her own blood.

"I don't know," Justin replied, looking all around.

"No!" Brent growled. "He went to find Izzy! Okay, Francesca, Laurent, you try to find Liz in whatever dimension or whatever that Stan stuck her. Justin, take care of Carly." Brent cracked his knuckles. "I'll take care of Stan."

Brent sniffed the air, getting a good whiff of blood and the disgusting cologne Stan wore. He began quickly following the scent up the stairs and down the halls, his worry increasing as the scent trail continued on closer and closer to Izzy. It was not until he was in the hall of the room where Izzy was that he finally found Stan, trying each of the locked door, then using magic to open them. Stan's eyes widened for a second when he saw Brent, but then he lifted his wand to cast a spell on him.

"Not happening!" Brent growled furiously.

Brent took a running start before leaping forward and tackling Stan. Stan tried to fight him off but could not get a spell aimed at Brent. Brent managed to grab his wand and snap it in half, tossing it down the hall so hard that it shattered even more when it hit the wall. Stan panicked for a second before throwing Brent off with an angry burst of strength. He jumped up, pulling his knife.

Brent backed up a little at the sight of the sharp weapon. The hall was so narrow he would not be able to avoid the blade forever. He needed a wider, more open space to fight Stan in. He kicked open the nearby door, running through the room with Stan right behind him, and stepped out onto the large balcony. Stan followed him out, taking a slash at him without a moment's pause. Brent blocked it and tried to grab Stan's arm but he pulled it away quickly, making another stab at Brent.

"Where is Izzy?" Stan demanded of Brent.

Brent did not respond. He picked up Stan with the intentions of throwing him over the side of the balcony but Stan stabbed at Brent's arm blindly. Brent dropped him as the cut began to bleed. Stan tried to take advantage of this but what he thought would make Brent weaker only made him more furious, which fueled his fight. Brent grabbed Stan by the collar and slammed him against the floor of the balcony.

It was not enough to weaken Stan, though. He jumped back up before Brent was expecting and struck in a lightning quick move. The knife went through Brent's stomach before he could block it. Stan cackled like a maniac. With one final burst of will Brent grabbed Stan's ankle and flung him over the edge of the balcony like a rag doll.

The door to the room burst open. Izzy looked around the room for Brent until she spotted him out on the balcony. It was not until she walked through the open doors of the balcony that she realized what Stan had done to Brent. She collapsed instantly next to him, sobbing into his shoulder loudly. Brent attempted to sit up but he was unable to. Izzy stroked the side of his head with a shaky hand as tears continued to pour down from her eyes.

"I…love you," Brent managed to gasp as the pain increased until he was weeping like a baby.

"I love you," Izzy sobbed into his shoulder.

Slowly the pain in Brent's stomach decreased until it was no longer there at all. Brent thought for a second that he had died, but he could still hear and feel Izzy crying. He opened his eyes to see Carly standing in the doorway with a very pale but happy look on her face. He felt the strength slowly returning to his bones and began to stand up as he waited for himself to turn back into human form.

And do you know what happened?

Nothing. At. All.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

"This is your fault!" Brent yelled at me across the dining room table.

I sighed, letting my head fall against the table. It had been almost two weeks since the Stan incident. My head was all better, Laurent was using crutches for a broken leg, Little Liz was still missing, and Brent was still a beast. The last thing I needed right now was to hear him screaming at me about how it was my fault he was still a beast. I lifted my head up tiredly as he continued to rant.

"Did you ever consider you don't really love her?" I asked him slowly.

"I love her!" Brent screamed.

"Then maybe she doesn't love you," Justin said.

"She does! She said so!"

"Words can have no meaning," I reminded him.

I leaned back in my chair and checked my watch. As of this time two weeks ago my original intention was to be on my way back to the magic world at this moment, but noooooo, I had to stay until things got sorted out with Brent. My mom and Phillipa were blaming me for what happened to Little Liz because I had, you know, gotten kicked in the head by a booted foot so I should have remained conscious.

"Do you mind if I say something?" Ms. Raggs asked from the table. "It is quite important."

"What is it?" Brent asked irritably.

"I found a notebook in the study when Izzy was here the other day and it was full of things about Brent."

"Okay…So Brent's girlfriend is a stalker girlfriend," Justin said.

"Stay out of it!" Brent barked at him.

Justin pushed back his chair and left the dining room. Brent left a few seconds later after violently pushing his chair in. I stayed there with Ms. Raggs for a few minutes of silence before I got up to leave. "Go talk to Justin," Ms. Raggs told me. "There's something he needs to tell you." I was a bit skeptical but I did what Ms. Raggs said and followed the sound of a piano playing until I got to the music room. Justin instantly stopped playing when I walked in, probably already knowing who it was.

"Ms. Raggs told me to come talk to you," I blurted.

"Let me guess, she wants me to tell you something," Justin said, still not turning around to face me. He patted the space on the bench next to him. "Come on, sit down."

I walked over hesitantly, sitting down and looking at him closely. His face gave nothing away. "What does Ms. Raggs want you to tell me?"

"Do you know why I moved in with Brent when I was fourteen?"

"No."

"Well…my father is in jail, and my mom was killed."

"Oh…that's terrible. If you don't want to talk about it-"

"No, I have to tell you. That's only part of it. My father is in jail _because_ he killed my mom. They were getting a divorce, they argued a lot, he was a psychopath. That's really all there is to tell."

"I know what it's like to lose a parent. My dad died when I was younger. After that Phillipa and my mother…they just didn't treat me the same. I think I reminded them too much of him."

"Little Liz idolizes you, though."

"Little Liz…If the magic police can't find her then there's no hope. I can't believe Stan would do that. He was so…ugh. I can't even think about it."

"Maybe we should talk about something else…like what the hell is up with Izzy?"

I looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

"That notebook…I've seen it. She writes in it all the time. I thought she was just a writer, but now I'm a little worried. If she really loved Brent, wouldn't he have changed back?"

"Yeah. But why would Izzy do that?"

"Maybe she's not who we think she is."

"Okay. But how are we going to find out if she's lying or not?"

"Do some girl bonding thing. I dunno."

I tilted my head thoughtfully. "I could use a spa weekend…"

"Then go. Take Izzy. Try to find out what she's hiding." He stood up, then pulled me up. "Don't rest until you find out what that girl is doing."

"Fine, Mr. Gung-ho, I'll see what I can do."

"I'm just worried about Brent."

"That much I got."

He rolled his eyes before falling back onto the piano bench. I watched him play for a little while before I went up to my room to reserve a room at the Blue Mountain Spa.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

I took a deep breath before heaving a sigh of relief once we got to the spa after taking the "short hike" from the reception office to the actual spa itself. That "short hike" was probably the rockiest and longest path I have ever been on, and it did not help that Blue Mountain Spa was actually located on a real mountain, or at least a very steep hill. Either way I was utterly exhausted so once Izzy and I got into our room I flopped down on my bed face first, letting the very strong and very attractive young man who had carried our bags set my things down near the door. Izzy gave him a tip, seeming as vibrant as she had when we first began the hike.

"Most people are exhausted after that walk," the bag carrier commented approvingly. He seemed to be approving of more than just Izzy's stamina, if you know what I mean. It made me very uneasy.

"Thank you, now please take your tip and leave, because my face is up here," Izzy said, shoving the money at the bag carrier before slamming the door shut in his face with slightly pink cheeks.

"Interesting…" I muttered as Izzy began to move her bags to unpack.

"What?" she asked, glancing up at me through her glasses.

"It's just, if I was you, I would have given him a little more than a cash tip."

"Why? He was, for lack of better words, a douchebag. I would never do that to Brent, anyway, I love him." After that last statement she paused in what she was doing. She turned to me skeptically. "Why hasn't Brent changed back yet? We love each other, but the spell is still on him. I can tell it's killing him inside not to be able to be human again. He misses going out in public, seeing people, going to the movies. He always complains that OnDemand just isn't the same."

After that little smidgen of information from Izzy I knew that it was no longer a case of her not really being in love with Brent. She was so concerned about his feelings that it was truly touching. Now I just had to figure out why the hell the spell had not been lifted. Had I cast it wrong? Was it my fault that Brent was so miserable? Then again…I had not actually _meant_ to cast the spell, it just sorta flew outa my wand before I could stop it.

"I'll try to contact my mother or my aunt to find out what's going on, but there are no guarantees that I'll get a good answer," I said to Izzy before standing up. "I think we have our fancy seaweed wrap thingies in a few minutes. Wanna head down?"

"Sure. I'll be down in a minute, I just need to go to the bathroom quickly. That was a long hike."

I went down to the main lobby of the spa and waited there for Izzy. I amused myself by casting spells to multiply the fish in the ponds and aquariums that seemed to be everywhere just to see the other little fishies react to the spontaneous newcomers. After Izzy and I got our seaweed wrap we got avocado facials that left my skin feeling soft and my stomach seriously craving guacamole and tortilla chips.

Izzy and I ordered room service for dinner before heading back down to the lobby where they were having a band play "calming songs" for the evening. We got down there early so the attendants were still lighting the lilac scented candles and some were cleaning out the fish tanks or feeding the goldfish in the waterfall near the entrance. "Were there this many fish before?" I heard one of the attendants ask another one of the employees. I pretended to cough to hold back a bit of laughter. Izzy and I sat down on one of the pure white, fluffy as a cloud couches to relax a little bit more before a strenuous night of more relaxation. After a few hours at the spa I realized just how tense and stressed I had been during the past months. I was really looking forward to that massage tomorrow.

Next to me Izzy pulled out a large sketchbook. She seemed careful not to let me see the pictures she had in it until she opened up to a page that had a sketch of Brent playing soccer on it. It looked like she was writing something but then the band arrived and, I guess out of courtesy or respect or something, Izzy put her sketchbook away to pay attention to them. I spent the entire little concert glancing at Izzy's bag where I could just barely see the sketchbook peeking out of it.

Later on, after we had gotten ready for bed and while Izzy was brushing her hair, I decided it was about time to ask her why she drew pictures of Brent in a sketchbook.

"What?" she asked absently, taking off her glasses to clean them with a small towel. She kept her head down as she cleaned them and did not look up until she had them back on again, like she did not want me to see her without her glasses. She probably did not look all that different. "Oh, they aren't all of Brent. I have this weird thing where I draw pictures of people when I miss them. My older sister went to boarding school and after a few weeks I would draw pictures of memories I had with her. When my mom went on business trips when I was younger I used to draw pictures of her walking toward the airport after we had dropped her off."

"Oh…"

Izzy reached over to put her brush on the bedside table as I sat down on my own bed. Her tank top went up enough for me to catch something written in script on her hip. I was a little shocked that it was a name. "Whose Dexter?"  
>Izzy glanced down at her hip sadly, knowing exactly what I was talking about. "My dad. He was a pilot. He died in a crash three years ago. That's why I live with my sister. It was too much for my mom to support my two brothers and I on her own, so my sister took me in this year."<p>

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

"No, no, it's fine." She yawned. "All this relaxing has got me beat. I'm going to bed."

"Yeah, me, too."

I crawled under the covers and pulled them up close around me, forming a sort of cocoon around myself as I turned to face the wall. It seemed like I had just fallen asleep when suddenly there was a loud banging on my door and a very nasally voice calling out "HOUSEKEEPING!" Izzy was already awake and probably down at brunch. I screamed back at the lady where she could do housekeeping and that shut her up until she started screaming and banging on the door across the hall. I dragged myself out of bed, took a shower, and changed before going down to the large dining room where there was a long all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet. I filled my plate up with a lot of bacon, eggs, and hash browns before plopping my plate down with a tall glass of orange juice at the same table as Izzy. She was scribbling something furiously in her notebook while checking things on her laptop.

"What's going on?" I asked her, only half-expecting a response.

"I just found out that I got accepted into a major science program at my school for junior year," she said, "but I have to fill out a bunch of paperwork and read all these books before school starts if I want to be able to participate next year."

"Oh, well, then, continue with your sciencey work."

Izzy groaned. "I have to fill out all these forms online. Do you mind if I skip the massage this morning? I really need to do this."

"Well, the point of this weekend was to relax…"

"I know, and I promise I won't even look at my computer for the rest of the weekend as long as I get to fill these out."

"Okay, fine. You gotta do what you gotta do, I guess."

I finished my breakfast quickly when I realized my massage started in ten minutes, and they liked you to get there a few minutes early. I ended up getting there right on time, which did not seem to faze the masseuse all that much. I lied down on the massage table thing, hoping that maybe this massage would get rid of both my stress and the strangely edgy and suspicious feeling that was growing inside me very quickly.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

After my massage I just felt like dancing on a cloud, which was really weird, but kind of enjoyable. I went through the many halls leading to various rooms of relaxation until I came to the lobby of multiple fishies so I could use the elevator to get up to my room. I was going to change into my swimsuit before going for a quick dip in the hot tub, which I had had an eye on since we first arrived.

I was halfway across the lobby when I heard a familiar sounding laugh. I turned my head to spot Izzy sitting on one of the lobby couches with her notebook on her lap and the sketchpad open to a picture of Brent sitting at the dinner table. Sitting on either side of Izzy were two male attendants, and two very hot, muscular ones at that. Izzy had taken her glasses off. I was wrong, she looked totally different without them on, and much older than sixteen. She also looked very familiar. One of the attendants had an arm around her and she was patting the other one on the knee. Let me just tell you that the look on her face was one that showed what she was saying was nothing below extremely flirtatious.

I walked over behind the couch, but none of them noticed me because the two men were too absorbed in what Izzy was saying, which surprised me because I found what she was talking about to be dull, boring, and horrifyingly annoying, even though I was not hearing a word she was saying. I crossed my arms just as one of the attendants realized I was standing there.

"Enjoying your threesome?" I asked them all, making Izzy and the other attendant jump and turn to face me.

"Carly!" Izzy said in surprise before slamming shut her sketchbook and notebook. She stuffed them in her bag quickly. "How was your massage?"  
>"Don't 'how was your massage?' me! What the hell do you think you're doing? I thought you were working on your science club crap."<p>

"I finished it."

"So what were you doing with these…jerkfaces." In the heat of the moment I failed at coming up with a better name for the two pigs Izzy had been flirting with.

"I was just…relaxing. You said that was what this weekend was about!"

"There's a difference between relaxing and flirting with random guys when you have a boyfriend that loves you."

"Carly-"

"Forget it, Izzy."

After that, I did not see her until dinner. It was not because I was out stalking about, contemplating what I should do next, or how I should tell Brent his supposedly sweet and innocent girlfriend was not so sweet or innocent, especially since on the way to the elevator I heard one of the attendants she was flirting with say "So I'm guessing our date for tonight is off?". I knew exactly what I had to do, because even now I could tell Izzy was still keeping something from me.

Down at dinner Izzy tried to act as if nothing bad had happened between us, and I acted right along with her, just as convincingly, too, because I had realized Izzy was very good at acting. I pulled a small vial with a dark blue liquid in it out of my pocket when Izzy's napkin mysteriously went missing and she had to go get a new one from one of her little attendant friends, whom she mysteriously had to follow into a closet to find the napkin, and weirdly enough it took them almost twenty minutes to find a napkin. Psh, oldest trick in the book, bitch. However, I was thankful for her sudden closet-sex-with-the-attendant desire because I got to mix some of the dark blue liquid into her iced tea that she was having with her dinner. It was a very strong dose of truth potion that I had spent the entire day making, which is why I had not seen Izzy the rest of the day. One sip of that potion and she would tell me everything I wanted to know.

When Izzy came back we yet again pretended that everything was well and normal between us. We made small talk, talked about stuff that was so unimportant I do not even remember what it was anymore, and then finally, after what seemed like forever, Izzy took a nice big sip of her iced tea. Once she had set her glass down I waited a few seconds before starting in on the questions.

"So, do you love Brent?" I asked her, oh so casually.

"Hell no," she said, a very disgusted look taking over her face before a shocked one replaced it. "I mean…y-no! What? What's going on?"

"Nothing." I waved it away dismissively with my hand. I was not shocked at all by her response. "If you don't love him, why do you stick around."

Izzy seemed to have a serious fight with herself in her mind before her mouth opened and it all came pouring out. "Okay, I'm not really sixteen. I'm twenty-six. I have a degree in veterinary sciences and biology, and a minor in journalism. I write for a developing science journal magazine. They need a really big story that will give them a good kick-start, and the science world could use some new interesting information. That's why I stayed. I've been cataloging every bit of information I can about Brent, and quite a bit about you and your sister, Liz, so I can submit them to my magazine in article form and possibly write a book. I'll become a superstar in the eyes of scientists all over the world if I give such a descriptive and insightful look at a creature like Brent. Can you imagine what it would be like if this was revealed to the world?"

"It would be catastrophic," I said, answering her question angrily as I stood up, talking low so no one near us heard. "Brent is not a creature, he is a _human being_, and you are never publishing any of your works. I will see to it that they are burned and the ashes are thrown into the Disappearing Wind of the Magic World."

"There's no such thing as a Disapp-"

"Oh, but there is."

Izzy narrowed her eyes at me, sliding off her glasses. I finally realized that I recognized her from a picture in a magazine that was accompanied with an article about young scientists that were on the verge of their big scientific break. "I will never let you burn my work."

"You won't have any say in the matter." I reached into my sweatshirt to pull my wand out of its special pocket on the inside.

Suddenly Izzy's eyes widened when she saw me holding the wand. Then her face twisted into a cruel look. "You can't cast a spell or your life."

_Don't overthink it, _Justin's voice said in my head._ Just do what you do when you play the piano, play it by ear and instinct_ "You seem to like the men working here to have their hands all over you, don't you? Well, I know just the thing for you, then." I pointed the wand at her and let a spell seep into my mind out of what seemed like absolutely nowhere and chanted it under my breath steadily, "_Take this bitch of a mind so foul, and make her into a dirty towel."_

No one saw Izzy turn instantly into a heap of a dirty towel. I picked it up carefully and brought it over to one of Izzy's favorite little attendants so he could throw it in the wash. I went back up to my room after that and found the biggest trash can in the room to throw Izzy's sketchbooks and notebook in. I added her laptop in just to see what affect it would have. Using my wand, I set fire to the contents in the trashcan.

After that, no one ever saw Isabella Reel every again.


	22. Chapter 22

I tried to be quiet and discreet as I entered the castle through the kitchen but Laurent just had to get a craving for some midnight snacks and was standing there with tired eyes when I walked into the room. I tried to make a beeline for the door but Laurent managed to beat me there, with his snack bar in his hand.  
>"I thought you weren't supposed to be back until tomorrow," he said skeptically.<br>"Change of plans," I muttered. "Listen, I'm really tired and-"  
>"Where's Izzy?"<br>"Probably in the dryer by this time."  
>"What?"<br>I pushed past Laurent forcefully before running up to my room with him close behind. I threw my bags on the bed before bolting the door shut with my wand, not even really thinking of the spell. It worked like a charm, no pun intended. Where was Justin with his advice when I was failing all those magical exams? And blowing up all those things?  
>Laurent tried to get through the locks but the ones I had used were too strong. I could sense his surprise at this as he finally gave up and went back to his room. I was not able to sleep for the next hours before everyone began to stir, waking up to Laurent's news that I had mysteriously returned home late last night without Izzy. I stayed in my room until I decided that I should just go take a shower, make it seem like everything was normal.<br>I managed to go for a run, take a shower, and get ready without encountering anyone, but then I had to go to breakfast. When I entered the room Justin, Brent, Francesca, Laurent, and Ms. Raggs were all at the table with very suspicious looks in their eyes. I could tell Brent was just a few seconds away from blowing up with anger if no one told him what was going on soon.  
>"So, um, what are everyone's plans for the day?" I asked, looking around at everyone.<br>"Where's Izzy?" Brent yelled at me. Justin and Laurent had to hold him back.  
>"In, uh, linen form."<br>"You turned her into a sheet?" Francesca shrieked at me. I remembered that she and Izzy had gotten along very well.  
>"Towel, actually."<br>"Why?" Ms. Raggs asked calmly before Brent could jump across the table and tear my throat out.  
>I told them about everything that had happened at the spa, all the things that Izzy had said and done while we were there. After I was done there was a stunned silence throughout the entire room. Suddenly Brent stood up and ran out of the room, and then out of the castle. No one made any move to follow him; he needed to be alone at this time.<br>"I knew it…" Justin muttered. "I knew she didn't really love Brent…"  
>"It's such a cruel thing to do…" Ms. Raggs added. "He had really fallen for her. He risked his life against Stan for her."<br>"He killed Stan for her." I saw all of them exchange glances after I said that. "What's going on?"  
>"They managed to find Little Liz," Francesca began, "but they only had her for a second before she was pushed into another dimension."<br>"The cops said that she wasn't alone," Laurent continued. "Stan was with her."  
>Outside I heard car alarms start going off. I rolled my eyes because right now I did not really feel like dealing with whatever it was that might have managed to spook Mr. Forde. I heard the car engine start before the doors to the castle slammed open noisily. We all were frozen for a second before we ran out of the dining room into the main entrance hall. Mr. Forde was revving his engine there as his headlights blinked repeatedly and his alarms continued to go off. Justin ran over to open the car door and switch on the radio.<br>"They're here!" Mr. Forde's voice shouted. "Stan is here!"  
>"Where?" I demanded because things like this always seem to happen to me right after I find out important information.<br>"Outside! Heading toward the house!"  
>"Is he alone?"<br>"Yes."  
>"Is Little Liz even with him?"<br>"No. He's alone."  
>Justin and Laurent began walking toward the open doors while cracking their knuckles as Francesca pulled her wand out. I stopped all of them with a warning look. "I'll go," I told them. "But stay close by for back-up. Little Liz is my sister." I took my wand out of my pocket. "Stan answers to <em>me<em>."


	23. Chapter 23

I walked up the gravelly driveway to where Stan was only a speck because of how far away he was, but he grew bigger with each step closer to him that I got. I walked slowly, trying to calm myself even though I was extremely pissed off and jittery with anxiousness. I could feel Stan's eyes on me while I approached him.

I stopped about twenty or thirty feet away from him with my wand gripped very tightly in my hand. Stan had a new wand clutched by his side. He gave me a cocky smirk before starting to twirl his wand while still watching me, waiting for me to make the first move. I would surely make the first move toward kicking his ass…right after he answered a few questions for me.

"Where's Little Liz?" I asked Stan sharply.

"No, hello, how are you?" he asked me. "Is that such a way to greet an old friend?"

"I can't even believe you're alive. Brent said he threw you over the balcony."

"I am not as incompetent with magic as you are, Carly, you must remember that."

"Just tell me where Little Liz is!"

"It's funny, because I came here in the first place to get Izzy as a wife, but then I realized that Liz would make a much better wife, you know, much less interested in scientific fact and all that crap."

"If you do not tell me where my sister is-"

Stan waved his wand carelessly as he rolled his eyes. The air next to him shimmered and bent before Little Liz appeared standing there with a terrified look in her eyes that had dark circles underneath them. She was paler than usual, and her hair was messy. Her wrists and ankles were bound, her mouth gagged. I wanted to cry in relief that she was alive, and then I wanted to kick Stan's great ol' conceited buttocks five trillion times more because of how he had been treating her.

"You don't deserve to live!" I shrieked at Stan, my voice getting very shrill.

I pointed my wand at Stan, but he had always had fast reflexes and cast a spell to disarm me quicker than I could cast my own spell to disarm him. I felt a quick slash across my cheek that stung so much it took all I had not to scream bloody murder and begin bawling. A force that felt like a giant boulder hit me from the back so I ended up flat on my face on the ground. A slash similar to the one on my cheek cut across both of my shoulders so blood began to seep through my shirt in a thin line. A few more slashes went across my back and arms, and I could no longer keep in the screams.

There was a pause in the assault so Stan could laugh at where I lay on the ground with my bloody torn shirt, screaming like a maniac. I could hear Justin, Laurent, and Francesca running up the driveway with Mr. Forde close behind them. I dug my fingers into the ground and pulled myself up onto my feet. I looked at Stan, still laughing in all his bastard glory, obviously unaware of how far someone like me was willing to go for the only real family they had.

I conjured up two knives in my hands without my wand, which was quite a feat by any witch or warlock. I threw one knife so it went slicing right through Stan's wand but unfortunately missed making any fatal contact with Stan himself. Stan glared at me as I approached him in his newly defenseless position. I did not fret that much when he pulled his own knife out of his pocket because it he was not the one being driven by pure rage at the moment. The others were almost with me by this point, and I was willingly going to accept their help to beat the crap out of Stan.

Then Stan did something I was not expecting: he moved behind Little Liz, placing the knife against her neck. Her eyes widened even more in alarm. Everyone froze where they were as we watched breathlessly, our hearts beating rapidly.

"Put the weapons down and she doesn't get killed," Stan said. "All of you." I guessed the others must have conjured up or found weapons of some sort. I slowly put my knife on the ground at my feet but did not make it disappear just yet. "Where's the beast?"

"Brent?" I asked, a little confused.

"Yes, Brent, why else do you think I came back? Certainly not to see any of you people. I came back to get revenge on the beast that almost killed me."

"You almost killed him, that's why he tried to kill you. Sadly enough, he failed to do so."

Stan pressed the knife closer to Little Liz's throat, making my heart jump inside my chest. I willed myself to keep my mouth shut for the sake of keeping Little Liz alive. I saw a little drop of blood drip down her throat as her eyes watered but no tears came out. She was so strong, so brave…

"Don't harm her," a low, growling voice said from behind me. "It's me that you want."

I turned to see Brent walking around from behind Mr. Forde with a few small twigs and leaves in his fur and clothes. He went by all of us until he was standing in front of Stan and Little Liz. I could see her trying to shoo him away with her eyes but he ignored her. Stan slowly pulled his knife away from Little Liz's throat, but the terrible feeling in my stomach and chest was still there when I saw the way he was looking at Brent.

Quick as lightning Stan's arm shot out to stab his knife into Brent's arm. Brent handled it with just a little groan before he grabbed Stan by the throat with his good arm. Francesca used magic to get the bonds and gag off of Little Liz. She ran straight to me but still kept her eyes fixed on the boys. I pulled my sister close to me and rocked her gently, stroking her hair comfortingly. I felt a warm hand rest gently on my shoulder. Even in this moment we were all still watching Brent and Stan, but we could do nothing because this was their fight, not ours.

Stan kicked Brent in the stomach to get himself free. He scrambled back before pulling out his spare knife to use against Brent, this time stabbing him in the leg but pulling the knife back out again. Brent would lunge and claw at him, Stan would stab (usually missing) and kick and punch at Brent. They moved as they fought, circling, until they soon disappeared into the forest. At first we could hear the noises of the fighting, but eventually we heard nothing except for the occasional loud groan or shout.

Then we heard the thing that made my blood run cold and my mind go numb: a loud, animal, ear-splitting scream of pain and death. For a few long seconds none of us could move. Then it seemed like a switch had gone off in our heads and we all were sprinting toward the forest faster than we had probably ever run before. None of us knew where Brent and Stan had finished fighting, but we also refused to split up to search.

Eventually we came to an area where we saw multiple claw marks on several large trees, and some of Stan's and Brent's clothing were caught on low hanging branches. Drops of blood were on the ground in a trail-like sort of way. Silently we agreed to follow the trail of blood so it would lead us to where…I could not even think about it, just like everyone else.

I squeezed Little Liz's hand as we came to where there were more and more drops of blood on the trail. I kept my eyes glued to the ground so I could not see what was up ahead of us. Francesca screamed and Laurent gave a little gasp before he sighed deeply. I guess Little Liz looked up too because a quiet gasp escaped her lips. I was just starting to look up when I heard Justin's reaction, which was not what I was expecting at all.

"Way to go, Brent!" Justin shouted enthusiastically.

My head snapped up in shocked confusion. "What?"

Then I saw Stan's body crumpled on the ground near a tree with his own knife sticking out of his stomach. I heard Francesca go behind a tree to puke not very quietly. When she returned she still had that slight green tinge to her that she gets whenever she sees dead things. I myself was getting a little bit nauseas. Laurent was shaking his head at Stan in total disgust. Justin ran over to high-five Brent as I stared at them. Brent leaned against a nearby tree with a cocky air about him.

"It was quite simple, really," Brent began with a smirk. "I just thoroughly kicked his ass."

"But we heard the scream-" I began.

"That was Stan. I was expecting it to be much higher-pitched."

"I see why you would think that," Justin agreed, nodding. He walked back over next to me where I was still clutching Little Liz's hand.

"Well, thanks for getting rid of him."

He shrugged. "Eh, it was fun."

I felt Little Liz's hand slip out of mine as she stepped forward. "Thank you," she said to Brent.

"Your sister just said that, no need to repeat it. I mean, it's really not that big of a deal." Yeah, he only killed someone, no biggie.

She bit her lip a little shyly. "It is to me."

Brent shrugged again but looked at Little Liz kindly. She smiled at him sweetly. Her smile came from her heart and went right to her eyes, which went across that ten feet between them to lock with Brent's eyes, and whatever connection happened there was sent straight to Brent's heart. In the second it took him to smile we all watched in awed amazement as the miracle occurred. Brent turned back into his attractive little human form again, but there was something different about him now that had not been there before he became a beast. A different type of attitude about him that was very subtle. And I knew the reason for it: Brent had fallen in love with Little Liz.

And, uh, based on the way she ran to him, flung her arms around his neck, and started making out with him I would say she likes him to.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Two Month Later

I looked at my watch to see how much time I had to kill before my flight left. I was flying to join my aunt for a year in Tuscany where she was taking special cooking classes from a famous chef and she wanted me to experience that, too. I looked at my phone to see that Little Liz had sent me a picture of her and Brent out fishing with Mr. Forde on his boat. Mr. Forde looked pretty good, and I think I saw some of Ms. Raggs's arm in the picture, too. I had no messages from Justin, which was not really surprising since I had not heard from him in the past month and a half since he had left to join his little musical ensemble of extremely talented youth. Actually, he was still on his little expedition to explore the world and had probably not even started with the orchestra yet.

A loud voice over the speakers informed me that people with certain ticket numbers could start boarding the plane. Of course, that was in the terminal next to the one I was waiting in. A couple a few seats down from me were speaking in mostly Italian which was kind of hard to eavesdrop on, so I began listening to my iPod to pass the next hour or so until my plane began boarding.

I closed my eyes, letting my music take my mind away. It took my mind away for about twenty minutes before I became really hungry really fast. I put my iPod in my bag before going on a search to find a place in the airport that sold food I actually felt safe eating. I spotted a pretzel cart quite a distance away and headed for it.

While I was walking toward the pretzel cart I thought I saw someone running in the distance. I ignored it, guessing they were just someone who was late for their flight boarding or something. However, since they were in my direct line of vision I could not completely ignore them and they became increasingly easier to see and identify the closer they got. Once I was one hundred percent sure of who they were I froze where I was, a grin spreading across my face.

Justin came to a halt in front of me, taking only a few seconds to catch his breath before he began talking.

"I'm so sorry," he blurted. I felt myself blush when I realized a few people were staring at us. "I have not been able to do one thing in these past weeks without thinking of you. I know I'm a total douchebag for leaving without telling you this when I knew perfectly well you wanted to hear it, and I know I'm probably making you late for your flight, but-"

"My flight doesn't leave for another forty minutes," I told him. "And airline I use is always late."

"But…Liz said your flight would probably be leaving by the time I got here from the house." By house he meant the castle I still resided in.

"She only said that so you would run all the way here and make the moment when you told me you loved me even more dramatic."

He tilted his head to the side. "What?"

I felt my cheeks get bright red. "Wait…why are you here?"

Justin smirked when he saw my face. "I'm just messing with you, Carly."

"Well could you not."

"Gladly."

He pulled me toward him to kiss him. It was somehow even better than I remembered it being. We stayed their kissing for close to a minute before he pulled away because we were, after all, in an airport. I looked up at him expectantly.

"Aw, come on, do I gotta say it first?" Justin asked mockingly after a few seconds.

"It would be nice," I said sweetly. "After all, you did run all this way. It would complete the moment."

He smiled so I could see all his perfect teeth. "I love you, Carly."

"I love you, too." I paused for a while. "What now?"

"Well…I leave tomorrow to join the orchestra."

"And I leave for Italy in thirty-six minutes."

"How long are you there?"

"A year."

"That's how long my stint with the orchestra lasts."

"So do we just try to keep in touch?"

"Trust me, I'll do more than try."

"Just be sure to visit me when you come to Italy."

"Oh, I will." He kissed me again, for a little bit longer this time. "Well, I better let you get back to your terminal."

"Only after you buy me a pretzel."

He raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

"You are buying me a pretzel as a going away gift."

"That won't make me seem cheap."

"If anyone asks I'll say the pretzel had gold flakes baked into it."

He kissed my nose. "You're a beast, Carly."

**_The End_**


End file.
